District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
El Departamento de Justicia Resuelve Acusaciones de Discriminación por Motivos de Estatus de Ciudadanía contra una Empresa de Guardas de Segurdiad en Carolina del Sur en Relación con un Exintérprete para el Ejército de los EE. UU. en IrakRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con Security Management of South Carolina, LLC (Security Management), una empresa privada de seguridad que presta servicios de seguridad armados y no armados en Carolina del Sur y Georgia. El acuerdo resuelve acusaciones de que Security Management discriminó a un trabajador en Carolina del Sur al retirar su oferta de trabajo condicional porque el trabajador era ciudadano estadounidense naturalizado. Más aún, el acuerdo resuelve acusaciones de que Security Management discriminó a trabajadores no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. que contaban con autorización para trabajar en el estado de Georgia al limitar, de forma rutinaria, a los puestos para agentes de seguridad a ciudadanos estadounidenses, sin tener fundamento jurídico para lo mismo, y al publicar anuncios de trabajo que disuadían a personas no ciudadanas de solicitar un puesto.
«A la hora de tomar decisiones en cuanto a la contratación, las compañías no pueden basarse en el medio por el cual un trabajador llegó a ser ciudadano de los EE. UU., ni tampoco pueden publicar anuncios de trabajo con restricciones ilícitas de ciudadanía que disuadan a postulantes con autorización para trabajar», afirmó Eric Dreiband, el Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. «La División de Derechos Civiles se ha comprometido a garantizar que las personas con autorización para trabajar amparadas bajo la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad tengan una oportunidad de solicitar un puesto y ser consideradas para oportunidades laborales con base en sus méritos».
La investigación del Departamento comenzó después de que un ciudadano estadounidense naturalizado (es decir, un individuo que nació en otro país y luego se convirtió en ciudadano de los EE. UU.) presentó una denuncia de discriminación contra Security Management. Antes de inmigrar a los EE. UU., el trabajador había servido como intérprete para las fuerzas militares estadounidenses en Irak. Con base en su investigación, el Departamento concluyó que después de solicitar un puesto exitosamente con Security Management en Carolina del Sur, la compañía retiró, de manera ilegal, la oferta de trabajo del trabajador porque no es ciudadano nativo de los EE. UU. sino ciudadano naturalizado. Por otra parte, el Departamento concluyó que, desde al menos abril del 2018 hasta diciembre del 2019, Security Management publicó anuncios de trabajo que restringían puestos para agentes de seguridad en Georgia a ciudadanos de los EE. UU., lo que excluyó a trabajadores no ciudadanos de los EE. UU. que cuentan con autorización para trabajar, como residentes permanentes legales, asilados y refugiados. El Departamento determinó que Security Management carecía de fundamento legal para restringir su contratación en Georgia a ciudadanos de los EE. UU.
La ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad («INA», por sus siglas en inglés) protege a ciudadanos de los EE. UU., nacionales de los EE. UU., refugiados, asilados y residentes permanentes legales recientes de discriminación por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía en los procesos de contratación, despido y reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión. Aquellos trabajadores que quedan fuera de estas categorías no gozan, en virtud de la INA, de protección contra discriminación por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía. Un ejemplo de discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía sería cuando un empleador restringe puestos de trabajo a ciudadanos y nacionales de los EE. UU., dejando fuera a otros individuos protegidos, entre ellos asilados, refugiados y residentes permanentes legales recientes, sin disponer de la base jurídica necesaria para tal restricción.
Conforme los términos del acuerdo conciliatorio, Security Management pagará una sanción civil de 60.000 $, establecerá un fondo de pagos retroactivos de 75.000 $ para trabajadores afectados y pagará 7.907.81 $ por concepto de pagos retroactivos al trabajador cuya denuncia de discriminación dio lugar a la investigación. Asimismo, Security Management quitará las restricciones ilícitas de estatus de ciudadanía de sus anuncios de trabajo, revisará sus políticas y procedimientos, capacitará a los empleados relevantes acerca de los requisitos de la disposición de la INA sobre el estatus de ciudadanía y se someterá a la supervisión por parte del Departamento durante dos años.
La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados («IER», por sus siglas en inglés) de la División de Derechos Civiles es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. La ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; prácticas documentales injustas; y represalias o la intimidación.
Hay información adicional disponible aquí sobre cómo evitar la discriminación en el reclutamiento y la contratación de trabajadores. Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo, en virtud de las leyes migratorias, llame a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected]; inscríbase a un seminario en línea gratuito; o visite las páginas web de la IER en inglés y español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery.
Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía, o bien por su nacionalidad de origen, en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sometidos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia.
Miembros del público también pueden informarnos de posibles vulneraciones de derechos civiles mediante el portal de declaraciones de la División de Derechos Civiles.
Department of Justice Awards over $1.8 Billion in Grants to Assist Victims NationwideRead the Press Release
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), a component of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has released awards totaling more than $1.8 billion to state victim assistance and compensation programs to fund thousands of local victim assistance programs across the country and to provide millions in compensation to victims of crime.
OVC’s flagship formula grant program is supported by the Crime Victims Fund (the Fund), which was established under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). The Fund supports a broad array of programs and services that focus on helping victims in the immediate aftermath of crime and continuing to support them as they rebuild their lives. In FY 2019 alone, VOCA grants served over 7 million victims and paid more than $399 million in compensation claims.
“Advocates, service providers, and law enforcement agencies from around the country stand ready to help crime victims exercise their legal rights and reclaim their lives,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “These new funding resources continue this administration’s unprecedented commitment to providing the support necessary for victims of crimes to be able to heal and recover.”
The vast majority of the over $1.6 billion in victim assistance funding goes to local direct service programs, including children’s advocacy centers, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, human trafficking and elder abuse programs, civil legal services, crime victims’ rights enforcement, as well as victim assistance positions in prosecutors’ offices and law enforcement departments.
State victim compensation programs will receive over $133 million to supplement the state funds that offset victims’ financial burdens resulting from crime. This compensation is often extremely vital to victims who face enormous financial setbacks from medical fees, lost income, dependent care, funeral expenses, and other costs.
“Building on the historic amount of victim assistance and victim compensation funding awarded last year, these new awards have the potential to alter the landscape of the victims’ field, putting services and support within reach of every crime victim in America,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, OJP's Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General. “Backed by an Attorney General whose commitment to crime victims is second to none, we are proud to make these resources available to help meet the emotional, psychological and financial needs that victims face in the aftermath of crime.”
“For crime victims, the first step toward healing and recovery is finding a place where trained, committed professionals can be counted on to provide compassionate services that meet fundamental physical and emotional needs,” said OVC Director Jessica E. Hart. “This funding, taken out of the hands of offenders and put to good use through local assistance organizations and state compensation programs, will enable advocates across the nation to support those in crisis and help victims find the justice they deserve.”
The Fund is financed by fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders and does not include tax dollars. Additional information about FY 2020 grant awards made by OVC can be found online at the OVC Awards Listing webpage.
Justice Department Settles with Minnesota-Based Company to Resolve Discrimination Claims Under the Immigration and Nationality ActRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it reached a settlement with WinCraft, Incorporated (WinCraft), a Minnesota-based sports manufacturing company with locations in Iowa, Florida, and Washington. The settlement resolves claims that WinCraft violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by requiring lawful permanent residents to provide specific work authorization documentation without any legal justification because of their immigration status.
“Companies large and small must abide by the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) requirements not to discriminate,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We are pleased that WinCraft will work with the Department of Justice to ensure that its policies and practices comply with the INA’s requirements applicable to workers with the legal right to work in the United States.”
Based on its investigation, the department concluded that WinCraft required unnecessary and specific documents from lawful permanent residents, such as requiring these workers to show their Permanent Resident Cards (sometimes known as “green cards”), to prove their work authorization. Additionally, according to the department, WinCraft required that lawful permanent residents show updated proof of their work authorization when their Permanent Resident Cards expired, even though federal rules prohibit such practice and these workers continued to be authorized to work based on their status as lawful permanent residents.
Federal law allows all work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, to choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from requesting more or different documents than necessary to prove work authorization based on employees’ citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.
Under the terms of the settlement, WinCraft will pay to the United States a civil penalty of $5,400, train its employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discriminatory provision (including through a training assessment and Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) webinar), and be subject to departmental monitoring to review compliance with the settlement.
The Civil Rights Division’s IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.
Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, can file a charge. The public also can contact IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688; call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.
The Civil Rights Division wants to hear about civil rights violations. Members of the public can report possible civil rights violations through the Civil Rights Division’s reporting portal.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the District of New Mexico. Operation Legend launched in Albuquerque on July 22, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
An Albuquerque man was charged on Sept. 29, 2020, in federal court for possessing fentanyl, heroin, and more than a kilo of methamphetamine, as well as four firearms.
Toby Randall Walker, 36, was charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to the charging documents, on Sept. 29, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration encountered Walker and located 1,490 grams of methamphetamine, 53.7 grams of fentanyl and 67 grams of heroin in his vehicle. Agents also located four firearms.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 3,500 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 800 defendants charged with federal crimes.
President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
Wisconsin Pain Management Companies to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Advanced Pain Management Holdings Inc. (APMH), its wholly-owned subsidiaries, APM Wisconsin MSO (“APM MSO”) and Advanced Pain Management LLC (APM LLC); and Advanced Pain Management S.C. (APMSC) (collectively the “APM Entities”) have agreed to pay $885,452 to settle claims that they violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks and by performing medically unnecessary laboratory tests. The APM Entities are headquartered in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.
“Healthcare providers must make recommendations about their patients’ health without respect to their own financial interests,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will continue to do our part to protect federal health care program beneficiaries and the American taxpayers from the corrupting influence of kickbacks designed to undermine the impartiality and integrity of physician decision making.”
“The financial arrangements pursued by APMH wrongly gave physicians an incentive to make medical decisions based on their own financial interests, rather than their patients’ interests,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “Medicare and Medicaid only pay for procedures and tests that are medically necessary and untainted by kickbacks. This settlement reflects our office’s continuing efforts to combat violations of the False Claims Act and improper arrangements under the Anti-Kickback Statute.”
“It is imperative that the public has faith and trust that the decisions made by medical providers are based upon the best interests of their patients” said Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region. “The specter of a payment of a kickback in any form or fashion diminishes that faith and trust and can lead to the improper payment and wasting of limited taxpayer dollars. The OIG will continue to work with our investigative partners to ensure the continued integrity of federally funded health care programs.”
The United States alleged that APMH improperly gifted shares of incentive stock to non-employee APMSC physicians who performed pain management procedures at APMH’s ambulatory surgical centers. The incentive stock was to be redeemed upon a sale of APMH and was dependent on the profitability of APMH, which was determined largely by referrals from the non-employee physicians. The incentive stock was allegedly given as a reward for past and anticipated referrals to APMH’s ambulatory service centers.
The United States further contended that APMH paid non-employee APMSC physicians to serve as medical directors in a manner that was tied to the volume of procedures at APMH’s ambulatory surgery centers. There were no written agreements documenting the services the medical directors were to provide, and the medical directors were not required to record or report any medical director functions.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federally funded programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient.
The United States alleged that the APM Entities performed confirmatory urine drug tests that were medically unnecessary. For certain claims, providers allegedly failed to customize orders for confirmatory urine drug tests based on each patient’s individualized risk assessment and circumstances, resulting in a higher level of testing than supported by the medical record. The APM Entities disclosed these improper urine drug test claims to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower will receive $142,152 as her share of the federal recovery in this case.
The APM Entities settlement with the United States is based on their ability to pay, and is part of a broader settlement that also resolves various state law claims.
The case was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The lawsuit is captioned United States, et al. ex rel. Hedstrom v. Advanced Pain Mgmt., et al., Case No. 13-C-556 (E.D. Wisc.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The United States Has Repatriated 27 Americans from Syria and Iraq Including Ten Charged with Terrorism-Related Offenses for Their Support to ISISRead the Press Release
With the recent transfer of custody of four defendants, the United States has successfully repatriated all Americans held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against whom criminal charges have been lodged for offenses relating to their support for ISIS. The Department of Justice will review the facts and circumstances relating to any future detainees and, where warranted, bring additional charges against others.
“With this week’s repatriations, the United States has brought back every American supporter of ISIS known to be held by the Syrian Democratic Forces against whom we have charges,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The Department of Justice has worked tirelessly over the years to prevent individuals from leaving America to fight for ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria and to investigate, repatriate and charge people who willingly left to support these organizations. This was our moral responsibility to the American people and to the people of the countries to which these terrorists traveled. The Department has also supported the efforts of other responsible nations to do the same, including by sharing evidence and know-how. We will continue to do so for any country that takes responsibility for their citizens who left to take up arms in support of ISIS’s reign of hate and intolerance.”
“Preventing terrorism remains the FBI’s top priority. Through the hard work and dedication of countless men and women across the FBI and the U.S. government, nearly a dozen citizens have been repatriated from Iraq and Syria over the past several years to face the American justice system,” said John Brown, FBI Executive Assistant Director for National Security. “This announcement should serve as a warning to those who travel, or attempt to travel, to join and fight with ISIS. We remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism as well as hold terrorists, and those who provide support to terrorist organizations, accountable for their actions. We will continue to work closely with our U.S. government and international partners to present a united front against global terrorism.”
“The United States continues to lead by example by working with the Syrian Democratic Forces to repatriate American citizens accused of supporting ISIS and, where appropriate, prosecuting their alleged crimes in American courts,” said Ambassador Nathan Sales, State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism. “We call on other nations, particularly in Western Europe, to take responsibility for their citizens, and we thank the FBI and the Department of Justice for their continued commitment to keeping alleged terrorists off of the battlefield.”
The Recently Repatriated
Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali: On Sept. 30, 2020, Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali made their initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida. Emraan Ali is charged in a complaint with providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Jihad Ali is charged in a complaint with conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. According to the criminal complaints, in March 2015, Emraan Ali traveled to Syria with his family, including his son, Jihad Ali, to join ISIS. Both Emraan Ali and Jihad Ali received military and religious training and served as fighters in support of the terrorist organization. Emraan and Jihad Ali finally surrendered to the SDF near Baghuz in March 2019, during the last sustained ISIS battles to maintain territory in Syria.
Abdelhamid Al-Madioum: On Sept. 16, 2020, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, made his initial appearance in the District of Minnesota on an indictment charging him with providing material support to ISIS. According to the allegations in the indictment and a law enforcement affidavit, from July 8, 2015, through March 15, 2019, Al-Madioum knowingly provided material support and resources, including personnel (namely himself) and services to ISIS. On June 23, 2015, Al-Madioum, a native of Morocco and naturalized U.S. citizen, and his family traveled from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to Casablanca, Morocco, to visit their extended family. On July 8, 2015, Al-Madioum left Morocco and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and then on to Iraq and Syria, where he joined ISIS. In March of 2019, Al-Madioum was captured and detained by the SDF.
Lirim Sylejmani: On Sept. 16, 2020, an indictment was unsealed in the federal district court of the District of Columbia charging Lirim Sylejmani, a Kosovo-born naturalized U.S. citizen, with conspiring to provide, providing, and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, and receiving training from ISIS. According to the allegations in the indictment, from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani conspired to provide and provided material support and resources, including personnel and services, to ISIS in Syria and received military training from the terrorist organization. The defendant was captured by the SDF in 2019 and has spoken to a number of media outlets about his time with ISIS.
Those Previously Repatriated From Syria and Iraq
Prior press releases relating to the six other defendants who were repatriated from Syria and Iraq are included below. For the latest updates on the cases, please check PACER or contact the relevant U.S. Attorney’s office.
Samantha Marie Elhassani – Northern District of Indiana:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-indiana-resident-pleads-guilty-concealing-terrorism-financing
Warren Christopher Clark – Southern District of Texas:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-man-arrested-attempting-provide-material-support-designated-foreign-terrorist
Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli – Eastern District of Michigan:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/michigan-man-who-joined-isis-charged-additional-offenses
Ruslan Maratovich Asainov – Eastern District of New York:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/american-citizen-alleged-isis-sniper-and-weapons-instructor-indicted-providing-material
Omer Kuzu – Northern District of Texas:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/repatriated-isis-fighter-pleads-guilty-terror-charge
Mohamad Jamal Khweis – Eastern District of Virginia:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/american-sentenced-20-years-joining-isis
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Northern District of Ohio. Operation Legend launched in Cleveland on July 29, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
A federal grand jury in Cleveland has returned a four-count indictment against a man on charges of drug trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm.
"This defendant is accused of illegally possessing an AR-15 rifle and large quantities of deadly narcotics," said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. "Additionally, this defendant has a record of previous drug trafficking and felony offenses. This case is a prime example of what we are seeking to accomplish under Operation Legend. Using federal resources and law enforcement partnerships, we are targeting drug traffickers, repeat offenders, violent criminals and those who illegally possess a firearm with intentions of causing havoc in our communities."
Edward T. Harris, 40, of Cleveland, was charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, law enforcement agents working as part of Operation Legend executed a search warrant at Harris’ residence. During the search, agents seized 294 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, 2.59 grams of crack cocaine, an AR-15 rifle and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
Harris is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to previous felony convictions.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 3,500 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 800 defendants charged with federal crimes.President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
Justice Department Issues Favorable Business Review Letter to ISDA for Proposed Amendments to Address Interest Rate BenchmarksRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it has completed its review of the proposal by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Inc. (ISDA) to amend its standardized model documentation for derivatives to account for the potential discontinuation of certain interbank offered rates (collectively referred to as “IBORs”). The department has concluded, based on the representations in ISDA’s letter request, including its description of certain safeguards, that ISDA’s proposed amendments to its standardized documentation are unlikely to harm competition. Therefore, the department does not presently intend to challenge ISDA’s proposed amendments to its standardized documentation for derivatives.
“ISDA’s process, including its cooperation with government regulators and its consultation-driven process for obtaining feedback from industry participants, has had the effect of clarifying the practical issues involved in planning for when LIBOR and other IBORs are no longer available and preparing for a smooth transition away from IBORs to other reference rates,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim. “ISDA has put in place safeguards to avoid harm to competition, such as making the selection of the fallback rates voluntary, which allows contracting parties the flexibility to designate alternative competitive rates they may think are more appropriate.”
According to the department’s business review letter, ISDA’s model documents are widely used by financial institutions to engage in swaps, forwards, and other types of derivatives contracts such as interest rate and credit default swaps. These derivatives contracts incorporate various interbank offered rates (IBORS), including the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Derivatives allow financial institutions to hedge risks they incur when lending or borrowing money.
The department’s business review letter recognizes that ISDA’s proposed amendments to its standardized documents for derivatives contracts are part of a larger effort to use alternative reference rates in financial instruments in the place of IBORs. This is in part because investigations by U.S. and regulators from other jurisdictions uncovered explicit manipulation of the submissions from certain banks to administrators of LIBOR and other interest rate benchmarks. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, LIBOR’s regulator, has publicly stated that firms cannot rely on LIBOR being published after 2021. To account for this eventuality, ISDA worked with regulators and industry participants to propose amendments to ISDA’s standardized documentation to incorporate fallback rates and calculation methods so that market participants can, if they so choose, refer to different rates in future derivatives contracts and efficiently amend existing contracts to incorporate the different rates.
Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the department currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided. The department’s conclusions in this business review apply only to ISDA’s Proposed Supplement and Proposed Protocol modifying its standardized documentation. This business review is not applicable to any other agreements, supplements, proposals, or initiatives relating to ISDA’s work. The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if the actual operation of the proposed conduct proves to be anticompetitive in purpose or effect.
Copies of the business review request and the department’s response are available on the Antitrust Division’s website at https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-review-letters-and-request-letters, as well as in a file maintained by the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division. After a 30-day waiting period, any documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure. Supporting documents in the file will be maintained for a period of one year, and copies will be available upon request to the FOIA/Privacy Act Unit, Antitrust Documents Group at [email protected].
Justice Department Awards over $9 Million to Combat Elder Fraud and AbuseRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today awarded grants totaling $9.4 million to combat elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors across the United States. Elder abuse is an intentional or negligent act by any person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to an older adult. Attorney General William P. Barr announced the awards on the 30th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons.
“Predators who target older citizens for fraud, financial scams and physical abuse are particularly despicable, turning the golden years of our nation’s seniors into a period of poverty and suffering,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The Department of Justice is taking aggressive action, pursuing all legal avenues to bring these criminals to justice and supporting law enforcement officials and service providers as they ferret out scam artists, arrest abusers, and bring aid and relief to victims.”
Approximately $7.9 million of the funds were awarded to jurisdiction and service providers in the United States under two of Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) grant programs. OJP’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded the remaining $1.4 million for related research projects.
“With lockdowns in place across the country, older adults are especially vulnerable to fraud, neglect and abuse, and criminals have not hesitated to take full advantage,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These grants, which build on previous Department of Justice investments, will help to turn the tide of deception and predation and restore victims to fiscal security and physical safety.”
Under the direction of Attorney General Barr, the Department of Justice is attacking elder fraud and abuse from all sides. A National Elder Justice Coordinator oversees the department’s work to combat elder fraud, and each of the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices has a prosecutor dedicated to addressing elder justice issues. This past March, the Attorney General announced the results of the largest elder fraud sweep ever conducted, with prosecutors charging more than 400 defendants and the charged elder fraud schemes causing alleged losses of over a billion dollars. Also in March, he launched a national initiative to pursue nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care and a National Elder Fraud Hotline managed by OVC.
FY 2020 grants awarded by OVC and NIJ further the department's mission and priorities by funding direct victim services and research projects that enhance the field's response to victims of elder abuse and financial exploitation. Specific programs being funded include the following:
- OVC’s Enhancing Services for Older Victims of Abuse and Financial Exploitation program awards nearly $6 million to 12 organizations to support communities in providing services to older victims of abuse and exploitation using trauma-informed approaches that protect the safety and confidentiality of victims.
- OVC’s Training for Law Enforcement to Improve Identification of and Response to Elder Fraud Victims program (previously announced) awarded over $1.9 million to provide training and technical assistance to enhance law enforcement's ability to identify elder fraud victims, connect those victims with available services, and bring the fraudsters to justice.
- NIJ’s Research on the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of Elderly Individuals program awarded over $1.4 million to two recipients to fund research projects to, respectively, better differentiate physical abuse of elderly individuals from accidental injury and to improve the reporting of elder abuse.
For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/elderabusefactsheet.pdf. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
EOIR Launches Resources to Increase Information and RepresentationRead the Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today
announced the launch of two new public resources that increase access to information about
immigration law and EOIR proceedings. The Immigration Court Online Resource (ICOR) and
the Pro Bono Portal also provide information about representation before EOIR’s immigration
courts and Board of Immigration Appeals that benefits both aliens in proceedings and those
representing such respondents.“EOIR is committed to providing helpful and accurate information to all parties before our
immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals,” said EOIR Director James McHenry. “ICOR expands our Immigration Court Helpdesk program, providing useful information to parties regarding immigration proceedings. Further, the Pro Bono Portal makes information about free legal representation more accessible to attorneys and aliens.”ICOR is a web-based tool that provides respondents, appellants, and representatives, and other
interested parties, with a centralized location for resources pertaining to immigration proceedings before EOIR. As an expansion of the Immigration Court Helpdesk program available in five immigration courts, ICOR provides similar information – every day and at all hours – to anyone with access to the Internet. This information helps users better prepare for immigration proceedings, legal representation in such proceedings, and practice before EOIR’s adjudicators. ICOR also includes a tool that respondents can use to access general information about the forms of relief from removal or protection for which they may be able to apply. This mobile-friendly web resource is available in English and Spanish.The Pro Bono Portal allows non-profit organizations, referral services, and private attorneys to initiate, manage, and renew their applications to be included on the EOIR List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers. Individuals and entities can still apply by mailing a completed EOIR-56 form to the list administrator at EOIR Headquarters, but the Portal will provide a more convenient and efficient application process.
Department of Justice Applauds President Trump’s Authorization of the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Permanent Extension ActRead the Press Release
On October 1, President Donald J. Trump signed into law a continuing resolution that contains the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Permanent Extension Act (the “Act”). The Act reauthorizes the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act (ACPERA) and repeals the sunset provision therein.
“We thank President Trump and both the Senate and the House of Representatives for their bipartisan action and recognition of ACPERA’s importance in the fight to safeguard our free markets and protect American consumers from collusion,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division wholeheartedly agrees with Congress’s findings that ‘[c]onspiracies among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets are categorically and irredeemably anticompetitive and contravene the competition policy of the United States.’”
Congress enacted ACPERA in 2004 in part to provide greater incentives for corporations to self-report and cooperate pursuant to the Antitrust Division’s Corporate Leniency Policy. Since 2004, ACPERA’s provisions have substantially strengthened the Antitrust Division’s ability to detect and prosecute anticompetitive cartel activity through the Leniency Program.
From Fiscal Year 2010 to 2019, the Antitrust Division’s criminal prosecutions have resulted in over $9 billion in criminal fines and penalties, along with jail terms for more than 250 individuals. Since the fall of 2019 alone, the division obtained four criminal fines and penalties at or above the Sherman Act’s $100 million statutory maximum, and prosecuted antitrust violations affecting generic drugs, cancer patients, grocery store staples, and financial markets.
ACPERA will continue to mitigate a successful leniency applicant’s civil damages exposure from treble damages to actual damages if the company provides civil plaintiffs with timely and satisfactory cooperation. While treble damages liability can be an important deterrent for engaging in anti-competitive behavior, civil exposure also can deter self-reporting of criminal wrongdoing. Therefore, the Department of Justice supported the reauthorization of ACPERA and the repeal of its sunset provision.
Wisconsin-Based Nonprofit to Pay $1.9 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims and Kickbacks on Federal Contracts for Blind WorkersRead the Press Release
Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired Inc. (IBI) has agreed to pay the United States $1,938,684.09 to resolve allegations that IBI violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act in connection with certain federal contracts set aside to employ blind workers, the Justice Department announced today.
IBI is a nonprofit corporation headquartered in West Allis, Wisconsin that receives set-aside contracts from federal agencies under the federal government’s AbilityOne Program. In exchange, IBI agrees to give jobs to workers who are blind or visually-impaired and comply with other contractual requirements.
The settlement resolves allegations that, between 2009 and 2018, IBI misrepresented to the U.S. AbilityOne Commission when requesting set-aside contracts for furniture design and installation services that it would maintain a 3:1 blind-to-sighted ratio of employees, and that furniture designers and sales representatives working for IBI took impermissible payments and gifts from manufacturers on certain contracts. It also resolves claims that IBI improperly subcontracted a set-aside contract for screen-printed clothing to an entity that did not generally use blind labor.
“AbilityOne contractors have a duty to follow the law and meet their important commitments to employ workers who are blind or severely disabled,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates our continuing vigilance to ensure that those receiving set-aside contracts under the AbilityOne Program comply with the conditions of their awards.”
The AbilityOne Commission operates under the authority of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act (JWOD ACT), which was passed in 1971 to increase employment and training opportunities for persons who are blind or visually impaired, or who have disabilities so severe that they are otherwise unable to work at competitive employment. More than 400 companies participate in the AbilityOne Program and receive set-aside federal contracts in exchange for employing approximately 45,000 people who are blind or have severe disabilities.
“By its conduct, IBI thwarted the AbilityOne Program’s goal of increasing employment and training opportunities for persons who are blind or visually-impaired,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “This settlement reflects our office’s continuing efforts to combat violations of the False Claims Act and protect federal programs.”
“We are committed to preserving the integrity of the AbilityOne program. False claims on the program exclude blind and significantly disabled workers from opportunities and hinders law-abiding AbilityOne contractors,” said Thomas K. Lehrich, Inspector General of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. “Working with DOJ and our partners, the Office of Inspector General protects the confidence and public trust in the largest employment program in the nation of blind and significantly disabled workers.”
“The conduct at issue in this case undermined the core purpose of the AbilityOne program – to provide jobs for the blind and disabled," said Carol F. Ochoa, Inspector General for the General Services Administration (GSA). "This settlement reflects our commitment to protect the integrity of the program and hold companies accountable for attempts to subvert it.”
Among the allegations resolved by the settlement are claims asserted in a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed by Paul Inzeo, formerly a marketing manager at IBI, whose share has not yet been decided.
The settlement also resolves conduct that IBI investigated and disclosed to the United States concerning the receipt of gifts and money by its furniture designers and sales representatives that was not alleged in the whistleblower complaint. It received credit in the settlement for its disclosure, cooperation, and remediation efforts in connection with this conduct.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, with assistance from GSA’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the AbilityOne Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The lawsuit resolved by the settlement is captioned United States ex rel. Inzeo v. Industries for the Blind, Inc., et al., No. 15-cv-996 (E.D. Wisc.).
National Health Care Fraud and Opioid Takedown Results in Charges Against 345 Defendants Responsible for More than $6 Billion in Alleged Fraud LossesRead the Press Release
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Calvin Shivers of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced a historic nationwide enforcement action involving 345 charged defendants across 51 federal districts, including more than 100 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals.
These defendants have been charged with submitting more than $6 billion in false and fraudulent claims to federal health care programs and private insurers, including more than $4.5 billion connected to telemedicine, more than $845 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or “sober homes,” and more than $806 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country.
Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit, in conjunction with its Health Care Fraud and Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force program, and its core partners, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, HHS-OIG, FBI, and DEA, as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to combat the devastating effects of health care fraud and the opioid epidemic. The cases announced today are being prosecuted by Health Care Fraud and ARPO Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, along with 43 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, and agents from HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and other various federal and state law enforcement agencies.
“This nationwide enforcement operation is historic in both its size and scope, alleging billions of dollars in healthcare fraud across the country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt. “These cases hold accountable those medical professionals and others who have exploited health care benefit programs and patients for personal gain. The cooperative law enforcement actions announced today send a clear deterrent message and should leave no doubt about the department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety of patients and the integrity of health care benefit programs, even amid a national health emergency.”
“Telemedicine can foster efficient, high-quality care when practiced appropriately and lawfully. Unfortunately, bad actors attempt to abuse telemedicine services and leverage aggressive marketing techniques to mislead beneficiaries about their health care needs and bill the government for illegitimate services,” said HHS Deputy Inspector General Gary Cantrell. “Unfortunately, audacious schemes such as these are prevalent and often harmful. Therefore, collaboration is critical in our fight against health care fraud. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who steal from federal health programs and protect the millions of beneficiaries who rely on them.”
“The FBI, together with our federal, state, and local partners, remains steadfast in our commitment to identify and root out health care fraud, no matter what form it takes,” said Assistant Director Calvin Shivers. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure public and private health care dollars are used as intended, to promote the health and safety of all Americans and safeguard continued access to critical health care services.”
“The opioid epidemic our country is battling is exacerbated when unscrupulous individuals seek to profit from people, in particular those confronting addiction.” said DEA Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott. “When doctors, pharmacists, and individuals exploit the weakness of a fellow human being in order to line their own pockets, DEA will use every tool at its disposal to stop and bring them to justice.”
Telemedicine Fraud Cases
The largest amount of alleged fraud loss charged in connection with the cases announced today – $4.5 billion in allegedly false and fraudulent claims submitted by more than 86 criminal defendants in 19 judicial districts – relates to schemes involving telemedicine: the use of telecommunications technology to provide health care services remotely. According to court documents, certain defendant telemedicine executives allegedly paid doctors and nurse practitioners to order unnecessary durable medical equipment, genetic and other diagnostic testing, and pain medications, either without any patient interaction or with only a brief telephonic conversation with patients they had never met or seen. Durable medical equipment companies, genetic testing laboratories, and pharmacies then purchased those orders in exchange for illegal kickbacks and bribes and submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other government insurers. In addition to the criminal charges announced today, CMS Center for Program Integrity separately announced that it has taken a record-breaking number of administrative actions related to telemedicine fraud, revoking the Medicare billing privileges of 256 additional medical professionals for their involvement in telemedicine schemes.
The continued focus on prosecuting health care fraud schemes involving telemedicine builds on the efforts and impact of the 2019 “Operation Brace Yourself” Telemedicine and Durable Medical Equipment Takedown, which resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of more than $1.5 billion in the amount paid by Medicare for orthotic braces in the 17 months following that takedown.
“Sober Homes” Cases
The “sober homes” cases announced today include charges against more than a dozen criminal defendants in connection with more than $845 million of allegedly false and fraudulent claims for tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction. The subjects of the charges include physicians, owners and operators of substance abuse treatment facilities, as well as patient recruiters (referred to in the industry as “body brokers”). These individuals are alleged to have participated in schemes involving the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes for the referral of scores of patients to substance abuse treatment facilities; those patients were subjected to medically unnecessary drug testing – often billing thousands of dollars for a single test – and therapy sessions that were frequently not provided, and which resulted in millions of dollars of false and fraudulent claims being submitted to private insurers. Medical professionals also allegedly prescribed medically unnecessary controlled substances and other medications to these patients, sometimes to entice them to stay at the facility. The patients were then often discharged and admitted to other treatment facilities, or referred to other laboratories and clinics, in exchange for more kickbacks.
Cases Involving the Illegal Prescription and/or Distribution of Opioids And Cases Involving Traditional Health Care Fraud Schemes
The cases announced today involving the illegal prescription and/or distribution of opioids or that fall into more traditional categories of health care fraud include charges and guilty pleas involving more than 240 defendants who allegedly participated in schemes to submit more than $800 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and private insurance companies for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided. According to court documents, in many cases, patient recruiters, beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were allegedly paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could then submit fraudulent bills to Medicare. Also included are charges against medical professionals and others involved in the distribution of more than 30 million doses of opioids and other prescription narcotics.
National Rapid Response Strike Force
In connection with the nationwide enforcement action announced today, the Department of Justice also announced the creation of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The National Rapid Response Strike Force’s mission is to investigate and prosecute fraud cases involving major health care providers that operate in multiple jurisdictions, including major regional health care providers operating in the Criminal-Division-led Health Care Fraud Strike Forces throughout the United States. The National Rapid Response Strike Force led the telemedicine initiative and helped lead the sober homes cases included in today’s announcement.
Prior to the charges announced as part of today’s nationwide enforcement action and since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force program had charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion.
A complaint, information or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The following documents related to today’s announcement are available on the Criminal Division, Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit website through the following links:
- Graphics, Images and Resources: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/hcf-2020-takedown/graphics-images-resources
- Case Descriptions: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/hcf-2020-takedown/case-descriptions
- Court Documents: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/hcf-2020-takedown/court-documents
Justice Department Announces $1.2 Million Dollar Settlement of Title VII Intentional Race Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit Involving Law Enforcement Victims in MarylandRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Worcester County Sheriff, in his official capacity (currently Matthew Crisafulli, formerly Reggie Mason), and the state of Maryland, resolving allegations that a former staff member was subjected to a racially hostile work environment and that he and others who supported him were retaliated against after he complained about the racial discrimination. The Justice Department also announced the settlement of related retaliation claims filed against Pocomoke City, Maryland that were resolved on Dec. 4, 2019.
“Subjecting a law enforcement officer to egregious racial slurs and epithets, then retaliating against him and others who supported him for reporting the misconduct, strikes at the heart of the race discrimination prohibitions that Congress enacted when it passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric S. Dreiband. “The police officers who were the victims of this unlawful race discrimination and retaliation will benefit from this agreement, and the Justice Department will continue vigorously to enforce Title VII to preserve the right of all citizens, including the brave men and women who serve in law enforcement, to work with dignity and respect and without regard to the color of their skin.”
The United States’ complaint in intervention, filed on Dec. 1, 2016, alleged that former Pocomoke City Police Officer Franklin Savage was subjected to a racially hostile work environment, which included repeated racial epithets and other racially-charged acts of harassment, while on assignment to the Criminal Enforcement Team, a multijurisdictional drug enforcement unit operated through the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. The United States also alleged that Savage’s complaints about racial harassment resulted in a series of retaliatory actions against him by the State of Maryland, through the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, and by Pocomoke City, culminating in the termination of his employment. The complaint further alleged that Pocomoke City retaliated against two other officers — former Pocomoke City Police Chief Kelvin Sewell and former Pocomoke City Police Lieutenant Lynell Green — for supporting Savage in the course of his complaints. Pocomoke City eventually terminated Chief Sewell’s employment.
Under the terms of a Dec. 4, 2019 consent decree with Pocomoke City and the newly-announced consent decree with the Worcester County Sheriff and the state of Maryland (which is subject to court approval), Pocomoke City and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office must review and revise their existing anti-discrimination policies and procedures and implement effective policies to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of race and retaliation. These resolutions further require Pocomoke City and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to develop effective policies that ensure employees understand how to report potentially discriminatory or retaliatory behavior and that supervisory staff understands its responsibility to report such complaints through the appropriate investigatory process. Pocomoke City agreed to pay a total of $1,101,003.00 to the former officers to resolve all claims against it. The Worcester County Sheriff, in his official capacity, and the State of Maryland agreed to pay an additional $100,000.00 to Savage, in resolution of his claims against those employers.
All three former law enforcement officials filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Baltimore Field Office. The EEOC investigated the charges and found that there was a reasonable basis to believe that violations of Title VII had occurred. After unsuccessful conciliation efforts by the EEOC, the charges were referred by the EEOC to the Department of Justice. The former officers filed suit and the United States intervened in their suit. More information about the EEOC’s jurisdiction is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.
Attorneys assigned to the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division represented the United States in this matter. The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and the jurisdiction of the Employment Litigation Section is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and https://www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.
Execution Scheduled for Federal Death Row Inmate Convicted of Murdering a ChildRead the Press Release
Attorney General William P. Barr today directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to schedule the execution of Orlando Cordia Hall, who was sentenced to death after kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 16-year-old girl in 1994.
In September 1994, Hall and several accomplices ran a marijuana trafficking operation out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. After a failed drug transaction involving $4,700, Hall and his accomplices went to the Arlington, Texas, home of a man they believed had reneged on the deal. The man’s 16-year-old sister, Lisa Rene, answered the door. Although she was simply an innocent bystander, Hall and his accomplices kidnapped her at gunpoint, and Hall raped her in the car. Hall’s accomplices subsequently drove her to a motel in Arkansas, where they raped her several more times. Hall and his accomplices then took her to a park where they had dug a grave. There, they beat her over the head with a shovel, soaked her with gasoline, and buried her alive.
In October 1995, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found Hall guilty of, among other offenses, kidnapping resulting in death, and unanimously recommended a death sentence, which the court imposed. Hall’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal more than 20 years ago, and his initial round of collateral challenges failed nearly 15 years ago. In 2006, Hall received a preliminary injunction from a federal district court in Washington, D.C., based on his challenge to the then-existing federal lethal-injection protocol. That injunction was vacated by the district court on Sept. 20, 2020, making Hall the only child murderer on federal death row who is eligible for execution and not subject to a stay or injunction. Hall’s execution is scheduled for Nov. 19, 2020, at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute, Indiana.
Department of Justice Invests More than $295.8 Million in Grants to Improve Public Safety, Serve Crime Victims in American Indian and Alaska Native CommunitiesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced it has awarded more than $295.8 million to improve public safety, serve victims of crime and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
“American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience rates of violent crime and domestic abuse that are among the highest in the nation,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The awards announced today underscore the Department of Justice’s deep commitment to improving public safety in tribal communities throughout the United States. This administration will continue to work closely with our tribal partners to guarantee that they have the resources they need to combat violence and bring criminals to justice.”
More than $103 million was awarded under the Justice Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) to enhance law enforcement and tribal justice practices, expand victim services and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts. CTAS grants are administered by the department’s Office of Justice Programs ($41.5 million), Office on Violence Against Women ($39.1 million) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services ($22.5 million).
“Public safety officials and victim service providers in Indian country face exceptional challenges, but they bring to their work an extraordinary array of skills and resources that enable them to meet and overcome any obstacle,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “The Office of Justice Programs is proud to help fulfill Attorney General Barr's strong commitment – and the federal government's long-standing responsibility – to our tribal partners in the matter of their citizens' safety and wellbeing.”
“OVW’s funding supports Native American and Alaska Native communities as they work across their communities to prevent and respond to gender based violence,” said Office on Violence Against Women Principal Deputy Director Laura L. Rogers. “These awards represent the strong commitment that OVW has made to help protect the most vulnerable members of tribal communities.”
“Ensuring our nation’s tribal communities have the resources they need is paramount for the COPS Office and the Department of Justice,” said COPS Office Director Phil Keith. “These awards are a critical component to the overall public safety strategy for tribal law enforcement and the COPS Office is honored to provide vital resources to hire more sworn officer positions, advance tribal training and procure equipment needed to keep communities safe.”
An additional $113 million was awarded to 133 applicants under the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program. This program, managed by OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), is designed to help tribes develop, expand and improve services to victims of crime and promote other public safety initiatives.
In addition to the CTAS and Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside awards, the Office on Violence Against Women made additional tribal awards of more than $31 million to support a wide range of efforts to address the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking.
Additional awards to support tribal public safety efforts were made by OJP and the COPS Office. OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) made six awards totaling more than $3.4 million to provide training and technical assistance to federally-recognized tribes and villages. OVC awarded more than $2.2 million to tribes to develop a workforce of direct victim service providers for American Indian and Alaska Native victims of crime in hard-to-staff positions and locations. OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded $16.1 million to address the needs of tribal youth, and its Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, and Tracking awarded nearly $7 million to implement the sex offender registration and notification provisions of the Adam Walsh Act.
BJA also awarded almost $1.9 million to 17 tribal communities to address the public safety challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19. Funding was made available from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act signed by President Trump in March. In addition, BJA awarded over $9.4 million to combat substance abuse in tribal communities, almost $4.3 million to help tribes reintegrate ex-offenders into their communities and $435,843 to tribal jurisdictions under the Justice Assistance Grant Program.
OJP’s National Institute of Justice made one award totaling $99,637 to fund tribal research to address the challenges of fighting crime and strengthening justice in Indian country and Alaska Native villages. The COPS office awarded nearly $800,000 to support tribal law enforcement agencies through training and technical assistance around community policing efforts.
A full listing of all the announced CTAS awards is available here.
A full listing of all Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program awards is available here.
For more information on the Office of Justice Programs, please visit: https://www.ojp.gov/. For more information on the Office on Violence Against Women, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/ovw. For more information on the COPS Office, please visit: https://cops.usdoj.gov/.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Northern District of Illinois. Operation Legend launched in Chicago on July 22, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
A federal grand jury indicted a man on carjacking and firearm charges for allegedly stealing a vehicle at gunpoint in Chicago.
“Our office will use every available federal resource to vigorously pursue and prosecute violent carjackers,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “We are committed to working with our state and local law enforcement partners to aggressively fight violent crime and protect Chicago’s neighborhoods from gun offenders.”
Elias Quinones-Figueroa, 19, of Chicago, was charged with one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to court documents unsealed Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, on May 27, 2020, Quinones-Figueroa forcibly took a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle from a victim in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. It is alleged Quinones-Figueroa brandished a handgun during the carjacking.
The carjacking charge is punishable by up to 25 years in federal prison, while the firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, which must run consecutive to any sentence imposed on the carjacking charge.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 3,500 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 800 defendants charged with federal crimes.President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
Department of Justice Awards More than $92 Million to Support Offenders Returning to CommunitiesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs today announced awards totaling more than $92 million to reduce recidivism among adults and juvenile offenders returning to their communities after confinement.
OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded grants to jurisdictions, research institutions and other organizations in support of proven science-based approaches to reintegrate offenders into communities.
President Trump is a staunch supporter of providing a second chance to incarcerated individuals reentering our communities. In 2018, he signed into law the First Step Act, including reauthorization of the Second Chance Act, the biggest piece of criminal justice reform legislation to be enacted in more than a decade. He also directed the establishment of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry and tapped Pastor Tony Lowden to be its executive director. President Trump has declared April as Second Chance Month for the past four years, and these awards represent his Administration’s commitment to assisting people in America’s prisons and detention facilities who have earned the opportunity to take their places back in society.
“Former offenders are ultimately responsible for their own successes and failures, but our criminal and juvenile justice systems have an important role to play in preparing them for the obstacles that lie before them,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “I’m very pleased to make these resources available to help offenders get back on their feet and contribute to the prosperity of their communities and the betterment of our nation. I saw these programs work first hand in my time as a judge and am so grateful for the hard-working people who are helping our reentering population.”
Fiscal Year 2020 reentry and recidivism reduction grants awarded include the following:
- More than $71.4 million under BJA’s grant programs designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies to address the challenges posed by reentry and recidivism.
- More than $11.2 million under OJJDP’s Second Chance Act suite of grant programs to support reentry services for detained juveniles and incarcerated parents with children under the age of 18.
- More than $9.3 million under NIJ’s reentry research and evaluation programs, which support rigorous research to advance understanding about reoffending and the success of reentry strategies, programs and practices. This includes evaluating innovative reentry initiatives that specifically focus on juveniles, young adults and adults with a moderate-to-high risk of reoffending.
For a complete list of individual grant programs, amounts to be awarded, and the jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/reentryfactsheet.pdf.
Additional information about FY 2020 grant awards made by the Office of Justice Programs can be found online at the OJP Awards Data Webpage.
The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
List Brokerage Firm Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Elder Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
Connecticut list brokerage firm Macromark Inc. pleaded guilty on Friday to knowingly providing lists of potential victims to fraudulent mass-mailing schemes, the Department of Justice announced. The fraudulent schemes tricked consumers into paying fees for falsely promised cash prizes and purportedly personalized “psychic” services. Thousands of consumers lost millions of dollars to the schemes.
A corporate representative for Macromark appeared before Judge Alvin W. Thompson of the U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut, for arraignment and to enter a plea of guilty to an information charging the firm with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
The information alleges that Macromark provided list-brokerage services for more than 11 years to clients who were running mass-mailing fraud schemes. Macromark specifically helped fraudulent mass mailers both acquire lists of potential victims to defraud and sell their lists of victims to other mass mailers. Macromark executives and employees engaged in this conduct despite knowing that their clients were mailing hundreds of thousands of deceptive prize notifications that misled victims into believing that they would receive a cash prize or personalized services upon payment of a fee. The potential-victim lists that Macromark brokered were essential to its fraudulent mass-mailer clients, allowing them to more effectively reach consumers who were susceptible to their schemes. Many victims who lost money to the schemes were elderly and vulnerable. In pleading guilty, Macromark admitted that the lists it provided to fraudulent clients resulted in losses to victims of at least $9,500,000.
“Protecting seniors from fraud is a top priority of the Department of Justice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will hold accountable companies like Macromark that help foreign and domestic criminals identify and scam elderly Americans.”
According to the information, Macromark facilitated fraud schemes from 2005 until September 2016, when Inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service executed search warrants on the company’s offices and the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch obtained a federal court order enjoining the company from facilitating mass-mailing fraud. The court order resulted in a permanent injunction that permanently prohibited Macromark from dealing in certain promotions or solicitations that purport to offer prizes or services for a fee, including sweepstakes reports, wealth-building programs or psychics. Macromark was also required to hire a compliance officer, and to audit a sample of all list orders for five years.
“List brokers and service providers such as Macromark who facilitate these schemes are especially dangerous,” said Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group. “Data firms such as this have extraordinary access to consumer’s personal information, not just their mailing address. The sale and distribution of this data exponentially magnifies the scale and impact of these schemes. Postal Inspectors are proud of our work to stop the targeting of our most vulnerable Americans.”
Macromark’s plea follows a separate guilty plea by former Macromark Executive Vice President Steven Keats in July 2018 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud while working at Macromark. Also, in March 2020, former Macromark Senior Vice President Norman Newman was indicted by a Connecticut Grand Jury for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, along with fifteen counts of wire fraud. Newman is scheduled for trial on March 1, 2021. An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Under the terms of Macromark’s guilty plea, the company would be sentenced to three years of probation, forfeiture and fines totaling $1,000,000, and be required to cooperate with any related government investigation or prosecution. The final sentence awaits a ruling from the federal court overseeing the case.
Trial Attorneys Alistair Reader and Ehren Reynolds of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Cherry of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case. The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Since President Trump signed the bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) into law, the Department of Justice has participated in hundreds of enforcement actions in criminal and civil cases that targeted or disproportionately affected seniors. In January 2020, the department designated “Preventing and Disrupting Transnational Elder Fraud” as an Agency Priority Goal, one of its top four priorities. In March 2020, the department announced the largest elder fraud enforcement action in American history, charging more than 400 defendants in a nationwide elder fraud sweep. The department has also conducted hundreds of trainings and outreach sessions across the country since the passage of the Act.
The department’s extensive efforts to combat elder fraud seek to halt the billions of dollars seniors lose each year to fraud schemes, including those perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations. The best method for prevention, however, is sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors, and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim, and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed 7 days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. eastern time. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Lakeway Regional Medical Center LLC and Co-Defendants Agree to Pay over $15.3 Million to Resolve Allegations They Fraudulently Obtained Government-Insured Loan and Misused Loan FundsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that Lakeway Regional Medical Center LLC (LRMC) agreed to pay $13,580,822.79, and Surgical Development Partners LLC, Surgical Development Partners of Austin Enterprises LLC, G. Edward Alexander, Frank Sossi, and John Prater collectively agreed to pay $1.8 million, to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act and other statutes in connection with the development of Lakeway Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Lakeway, Texas. LRMC was formed to develop and operate the hospital. The other settling parties assisted in the development of the hospital and the management and operations of LRMC.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), insures loans used to build hospitals in underserved areas. The settlement announced today resolves allegations that, when applying for a mortgage loan insured by the FHA to fund construction of the hospital, the defendants made numerous false statements and material omissions in order to overstate physician support for the hospital and understate other key credit risks, thereby obtaining the loan under false pretenses. In particular, the United States alleged that the defendants delayed refunds to investors who had cancelled their investments to make it appear as if the project satisfied mortgage covenants regarding the cash on hand required to close the loan. The settlement also resolves claims that, after obtaining the loan for LRMC, the defendants distributed project funds in contravention of FHA’s requirements. HUD purchased the mortgage note, and suffered a loss, when LRMC defaulted.
“Individuals and entities that benefit from FHA insurance must be truthful with the government and honor their commitments,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates the department’s resolve to hold accountable borrowers who subvert FHA’s important efforts to support hospitals in underserved communities.”
“My office will continue to vigorously enforce the False Claims Act, which protects taxpayers and helps ensure that federal programs operate as Congress intended,” said U.S. Attorney John Bash of the Western District of Texas. “I am proud of the work that my team did in this important case.”
“This case demonstrates HUD’s commitment to holding accountable FHA participants that commit fraud against HUD’s healthcare programs,” said HUD’s Federal Housing Commissioner Dana Wade. HUD’s Principal Deputy General Counsel Michael B. Williams added, “We will continue to collaborate with the Department of Justice to enforce HUD’s rules and protect FHA programs and their beneficiaries.”
“Misconduct in FHA’s hospital loan insurance program ultimately harms underserved communities and vulnerable populations who need access to critical medical services,” said Rae Oliver Davis, HUD Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Today's settlement is the latest example and should serve as a stark reminder that HUD OIG, in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously pursue any attempt to undermine the integrity of FHA insurance programs.”
This matter was investigated by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, HUD, and the HUD Office of Inspector General. The lawsuit resolved by this settlement is captioned United States v. Lakeway Regional Medical Center, LLC, Case No. A-19-CV-945 (W.D. Tex.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
FBI Report on Crime Shows Decline in Violent Crime Rate for Third Consecutive YearRead the Press Release
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its 2019 edition of Crime in the United States, which showed that violent crime decreased nationwide for the third consecutive year. After decreases in both 2017 and 2018, the violent crime rate dropped an additional one percent this past year and the property crime rate decreased 4.5 percent.
Since 1930, the FBI has tracked nationwide data on crimes and publishes its compilation each year. Submitting data to the FBI is a collective effort on the part of city, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies to present a nationwide view of crime.
“For the last three years the Department of Justice has worked tirelessly with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to pursue those violent criminals, cartels, and gangs who seek to harm our communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “We are steadfast in our commitment to protect the public safety of citizens and communities across the United States through violent crime initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Guardian and, most recently, Operation Legend. Violent crime rates had been increasing during 2015-2016, so I am proud of the hard work by all prosecutors and law enforcement agents across the nation who have reduced violent crime rates during each of the last three years. I look forward to continuing our joint efforts to protect the American public from the violence of criminals.”
“I am encouraged by the great work being done by law enforcement to combat violent crime across the nation,” said FBI Deputy Director Dave Bowdich. “The FBI continues to make clear that violence will not be tolerated, and we are committed to continuing our work with state, local, and tribal partners across the country to confront and deter violence, dismantle criminal organizations and gangs, eradicate drug trafficking, and bring justice to victims.”
This past year, a total of 16,554 law enforcement agencies reported Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data to the FBI. In 2019, there were an estimated 1,203,808 violent crimes and an estimated violent crime rate of 366.7 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. This represented a one percent decrease from the prior year. The FBI’s UCR data indicates that the violent crime rate dropped 0.7 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018 from the prior years.
In October 2017, the Department of Justice reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction initiative targeting gun and gang violence in particular geographic hotspots. Each United States Attorney around the nation, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement, developed a customized strategy to prioritize prosecutions of the most violent criminals in the most dangerous areas in their district and to support locally based prevention and reentry programs to prevent additional violence. Independent academic research found that PSN successfully reduced violent crime by an average of 4 to 20 percent, and as high as 42 percent in some locations.
In November 2019, the Department launched Project Guardian, a comprehensive law enforcement strategy specifically aimed at gun crime. United States Attorney’s Offices, coordinating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and state and local law enforcement, developed a strategy for coordinating prosecution, enforcing background checks, improving information sharing, coordinating response to mental health denials, and coordinating on crime gun intelligence.
Through violent crime initiatives, the Department charged the largest number of violent crime defendants since the Department began tracking this category more than 25 years ago. The Department has also increased federal firearm prosecutions by 43 percent in the last three years.
While the downward trends of the past three years are encouraging, the Department remains steadfast in its efforts. On Sept. 15, 2020, the FBI published its Preliminary Uniform Crime Report, January–June, 2020, which revealed overall declines in the number of violent crimes and property crimes reported for the first six months of 2020 when compared with figures for the first six months of 2019. While there were significant decreases in the number of rapes and robberies, there was a significant spike in murders and an increase in aggravated assaults.
The report is based on information from 12,206 law enforcement agencies that submitted three to six months of comparable data for both years.
The Department continues to closely monitor violent crime nationally and in July 2020, launched Operation Legend in Kansas City, Missouri, as a sustained, systematic, and coordinated law enforcement initiative where federal law enforcement agencies partner with state and local law enforcement to fight violent crime. It has now expanded to Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Memphis, and Indianapolis.
Since Operation Legend’s launch, approximately 3,500 arrests have been made – including approximately 200 arrests for homicide. Defendants have been charged in state and local courts, and approximately 815 of those 3,500 defendants have been charged with federal crimes. Together, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local law enforcement have seized over 1,200 firearms and weapons, nearly 19 kilos of heroin, over 11 kilos of fentanyl (enough to deliver more than five million fatal doses), over 94 kilos of methamphetamine, nearly 14 kilos of cocaine, and more than $6.5 million in drug proceeds. For more information on the successes of Operation Legend, please visit the Department of Justice’s website.
United States Files Complaint Against Nutter Home Loans for Forging Certifications and Using Unqualified Underwriters to Approve Government-Insured Reverse MortgagesRead the Press Release
The United States has filed a complaint under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 and the False Claims Act against Nutter Home Loans, f/k/a James B. Nutter & Co. (Nutter), for forging certifications and using unqualified underwriters to approve Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), the Department of Justice announced today.
“The HECM program benefits America’s seniors and our communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department is committed to holding accountable those who violate the bedrock requirements of this important program.”
“Companies participating in federal programs must operate with honor and integrity,” said Acting U.S Attorney Michael R. Sherwin for the District of Columbia. “This complaint sends a clear message that we will not tolerate fraud against programs designed to financially help our nation’s seniors.”
“Lenders who willfully disregard FHA requirements for HECM loans expose the program to significant financial losses that threaten the future availability of this important program to seniors,” said Rae Oliver Davis, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This complaint is evidence that we will tirelessly investigate allegations of abuses of the HECM program by FHA lenders.”
The FHA, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), offers numerous mortgage insurance programs intended to help build and sustain strong communities across America. The HECM program is a reverse mortgage program specifically for senior homeowners age 62 and older. The program allows seniors to access the equity in their residences, and thereby age in place in their family home, through a mortgage agreement with a lender that is insured against loss by the FHA. The United States’ complaint alleges that in order to significantly increase its loan production, Nutter used unqualified underwriters lacking the requirements established by HUD to review and approve HECMs that Nutter ultimately insured with the FHA. Moreover, on other loans, Nutter forged the signatures of qualified underwriters to make it appear that a qualified underwriter had reviewed and approved the loan.
This matter was investigated by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, HUD, and HUD’s Office of Inspector General. The claims asserted against the defendant are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Two Former Deutsche Bank Traders Convicted of Engaging in Deceptive and Manipulative Trading Practices in U.S. Commodities MarketsRead the Press Release
A Chicago federal jury found two former employees of Deutsche Bank, a global financial institution, guilty today of fraud charges for their respective roles in fraudulent and manipulative trading practices involving publicly-traded precious metals futures contracts.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.
After a two-week trial, James Vorley, 42, of the United Kingdom, and Cedric Chanu, 40, of France and the United Arab Emirates, were convicted of three counts and seven counts, respectively, of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 21, 2021, before U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois, who presided over the trial.
“Today’s jury verdict shows that those who seek to manipulate our public financial markets through fraud will be held accountable by juries and the department,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
According to evidence presented at trial, Vorley and Chanu, who were employed as traders at Deutsche Bank—Vorley based in London; Chanu based in London and Singapore—engaged in a scheme to defraud other traders on the Commodity Exchange Inc., which was an exchange run by the CME Group. The defendants defrauded other traders by placing fraudulent orders that they did not intend to execute in order to create the appearance of false supply and demand and to induce other traders to trade at prices, quantities, and times that they otherwise would not have traded. Specifically, the evidence showed that the defendants engaged in the practice of “spoofing,” which means that they placed orders on the exchange which, at the time the orders were placed, they did not intend to execute, all for the purpose of deceiving other market participants.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office. Deputy Chief Brian Young, Assistant Chief Avi Perry, and Trial Attorney Leslie S. Garthwaite of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Western District of Missouri. Operation Legend launched in Kansas City on July 8, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
United States vs. Daniel Dewayne Gregg
A Bates City, Missouri, man was charged in federal court after law enforcement officers seized nearly two dozen firearms and illegal drugs from his residence.
Daniel Dewayne Gregg, 57, was charged on Sept. 11, 2020, with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers identified Gregg as a major supplier of methamphetamine trafficking following several controlled drug purchases. Officers executed a search warrant at Gregg’s residence on Friday, Sept. 11, and placed him under arrest.
It is alleged that Gregg told officers that he had been dealing crystal methamphetamine continuously for at least the past six months and stated that he was a kilogram-level dealer of crystal methamphetamine and had sold, at a conservative minimum, at least 12 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine per month for the past six months. Gregg stated he had several large-scale customers who purchased at least a half-kilogram of methamphetamine from him at a time. Gregg said he purchased methamphetamine for $12,000 per kilogram and sold it for about $13,000 per kilogram.
Officers located a large firearms safe in the basement of Gregg’s residence that contained 22 firearms and a large amount of cash. Officers also searched Gregg’s vehicle and found 151.6 grams of methamphetamine, 436.5 grams of marijuana, and 207 prescription pills in unlabeled pill bottles. Officers also found methamphetamine inside a fanny pack and a loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on top of the fanny pack. Gregg allegedly told officers he had the firearm because he had been threatened by individuals wanting to do him harm.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 3,500 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 800 defendants charged with federal crimes.President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
Multinational Industrial Engineering Company to Pay $22 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs DutiesRead the Press Release
Linde GmbH and its U.S. subsidiary Linde Engineering North America LLC (LENA) (together, “Linde”) have agreed to pay the United States more than $22.2 million to resolve allegations that Linde violated the False Claims Act by knowingly making false statements on customs declarations to avoid paying duties owed on the companies’ imports, the Justice Department announced today.
“This settlement reflects our commitment to hold accountable those who evade duties owed on imported goods, including antidumping and countervailing duties that level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will zealously pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets by bringing underpriced goods into this country.”
“Trade policy is a critical part of our nation’s economic stability and security,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Jennifer Arbittier Williams. “Anti-dumping and countervailing duties ensure that American manufacturers are protected from unfair trade practices, and valuation requirements help to ensure that importers do not have an incentive to use foreign engineers instead of hiring in the United States.”
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is proud to work with the Department of Justice to enforce our trade laws. Collecting revenue on behalf of the American people is something we take very seriously,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, CBP Office of Trade. “We are glad to have come to an equitable and productive solution.”
Linde GmbH is a multinational corporation headquartered in Germany that, among other things, imports materials into the United States for use in the construction of natural gas and chemical manufacturing plants. Houston-based LENA managed procurement and logistics for Linde, which imported more than $500 million in goods into the United States between 2011 and 2017.
To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are covered by antidumping or countervailing duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) relies on these representations to determine the correct amount of any duties owed. It is the importer’s affirmative duty to use “reasonable care” to make sure that such information is accurate so that CBP can assess the proper duties.
The United States alleged that, between 2011 and 2017, Linde avoided duties owed to the United States, including in some instances antidumping and countervailing duties, by misrepresenting the nature, classification, and valuation of imported merchandise, as well as the applicability of free trade agreements.
Prior to the United States’ disclosure to Linde of its investigation, Linde made a partial disclosure to CBP regarding its importing practices. In the settlement, the United States acknowledged Linde’s cooperation.
The settlement with Linde resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and is captioned United States ex rel. Johnson v. Linde AG, et al., No. 17-cv-1012. As part of today’s resolution, Ms. Johnson will receive approximately $3.7 million.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel and CBP’s Regulatory Audit and Agency Advisory Services.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Statement by Department of Justice Spokesperson Kerri Kupec on the Execution of Christopher Andre VialvaRead the Press Release
Department of Justice Spokesperson Kerri Kupec has issued the following statement:
“Today, Christopher Andre Vialva was executed at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute in accordance with the capital sentences recommended by a federal jury and imposed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in 2000. Vialva was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. EDT.
In June 1999, Todd and Stacie Bagley — youth ministers from Iowa who had traveled to Texas to attend a church revival — agreed to give a ride to Vialva and several others. Once in the car, Vialva pointed a gun at Todd, and he and the others forced the couple into the trunk. Vialva drove around for several hours, stopping at ATMs to withdraw money from the couple’s bank account and trying to pawn Stacie’s wedding ring. While locked in the trunk, the couple spoke with their abductors about God and pleaded for their lives. Vialva eventually parked on the Fort Hood military reservation, where the co-conspirators doused the car with lighter fluid as the couple, still locked in the trunk, sang and prayed. After Stacie said, “Jesus loves you,” and “Jesus, take care of us,” Vialva shot both Todd and Stacie in the head — killing Todd and knocking Stacie unconscious. A co-conspirator then lit the car on fire, killing Stacie. A federal jury found Vialva guilty of, among other offenses, two counts of murder within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and unanimously recommended two death sentences, which the court imposed. His convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal, and his requests for collateral relief were rejected by every court that considered them.
More than two decades after Christopher Andre Vialva brutally ended the lives of Todd and Stacie Bagley, justice has been served. Several family members and loved ones of the Bagleys witnessed today’s execution.”
Over 300 People Facing Federal Charges for Crimes Committed During Nationwide DemonstrationsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that more than 300 individuals in 29 states and Washington, D.C., have been charged for crimes committed adjacent to or under the guise of peaceful demonstrations since the end of May.
To date, of the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs), more than 40 USAOs have filed federal charges alleging crimes ranging from attempted murder, assaulting a law enforcement officer, arson, burglary of a federally-licensed firearms dealer, damaging federal property, malicious destruction of property using fire or explosives, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, unlawful possession of a destructive device, inciting a riot, felony civil disorder, and others. Violent opportunists have exploited these demonstrations in various ways.
Approximately 80 individuals have been charged with offenses relating to arson and explosives. Approximately 15 individuals have been charged with damaging federal property. In some instances, these individuals are alleged to have set fires to local businesses as well as city and federal property, which will regrettably incur millions of taxpayer dollars to repair damages to the Portland Courthouse, Nashville Courthouse, Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, Seattle Police East Precinct, and local high school in Minnesota; and, to replace police cruisers in South Carolina, Washington, Rhode Island, Georgia, Utah, and other states.
Corporate and local businesses were also targeted, including a Target Corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Boost Mobile Store in Milwaukee, Champ Sports Store in Tampa, and local restaurants including a pizza parlor in Los Angeles and a sushi bar in Santa Monica. Through these acts, these individuals have shown minimal regard to their communities and for the safety of others and themselves.
In Washington, D.C., outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, a man was engulfed in flames after he poured a liquid from a gas can onto three U.S. Supreme Court Police vehicles; he suffered severe burns. In Virginia Beach, authorities identified a man who is alleged to have threatened to burn down an African American church.
Approximately 35 individuals have been charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer and related offenses. One of these cases was charged in Massachusetts; the rest of these individuals were charged in Oregon. The assaults have targeted local and federal law enforcement officers. In Portland, a man is alleged to have approached a U.S. Marshals Deputy from behind and struck the deputy in the upper back, neck, and shoulder with a wooden baseball bat; another man, allegedly assaulted a Deputy U.S. Marshal with an explosive device. In Boston, a man allegedly shot at least 11 times toward officers, including a deputized federal officer.
Approximately 30 individuals have been charged with offenses related to civil disorder. In several instances, these individuals leveraged social media platforms to incite destruction and assaults against law enforcement officers. In Cleveland, two Pennsylvania men are charged with driving to the city with the intent to participate in a riot and commit acts of violence. In their possession, authorities found a black backpack containing a hammer, two containers of Sterno Firestarter Instant Flame Gel, a can of spray paint, a glass bottle of liquor with a bar-style pour top, a Glock semi-automatic firearm and two magazines loaded with ammunition. In Knoxville, one individual allegedly instructed his social media followers to, “bring hammers bricks whatever you want.” The same defendant allegedly used a trashcan lid filled with an unknown liquid to strike a law enforcement officer in the head while the officer was seated in a police vehicle.
Charges have also been filed against individuals accused of committing burglary and carjacking. In Pittsburgh, two individuals allegedly attempted to burglarize a Dollar Bank. In Louisville, two individuals were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary involving controlled substances at a local Walgreens. Another Louisville individual was charged with carjacking; at the time of the carjacking, the individual was on a felony diversion as a result of a February 2020 conviction for charges that were initially filed as complicity to murder and complicity to robbery.
Several of these charges carry significant maximum prison sentences. For example, felony assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Arson is punishable by up to 20 years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
The following agencies and U.S. Attorney’s offices have investigated these cases along with multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies: The FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and United States Attorneys’ Offices (including the District of Arizona, the Central District of California, the Northern District of California, the Southern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of Columbia, the District of Delaware, the Middle District of Florida, the Northern District of Georgia, the Central District of Illinois, the Northern District of Illinois, the Southern District of Indiana, the Western District of Kentucky, the Middle District of Louisiana, the District of Maine, the District of Massachusetts, the District of Minnesota, the Eastern District of Missouri, the Western District of Missouri, the District of Nevada, the District of New Jersey, the Eastern District of New York, the Northern District of New York, the Southern District of New York, the Western District of New York, the Eastern District of North Carolina, the District of North Dakota, the Northern District of Ohio, the Southern District of Ohio, the District of Oregon, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Western District of Pennsylvania, the District of Rhode Island, the District of South Carolina, the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Middle District of Tennessee, the Northern District of Texas, the Western District of Texas, the District of Utah, the Eastern District of Virginia, the Western District of Washington, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the Western District of Wisconsin).
The ATF and FBI continue to urge the public to report suspected arson, use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected], or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com.
In addition to those who commit fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at FBI.gov/violence.
An indictment and criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Eastern District of Missouri. Operation Legend launched in St. Louis on Aug. 6, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
United States vs. Andrew Sheperd
On Aug. 27, 2020, Andrew Sheperd was charged by a federal grand jury with being a felon in possession of a firearm, with being in possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine .
“This arrest spotlights the hard work and dedicated partnership between the men and women of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and other federal agencies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Jensen of the Eastern District of Missouri. “We share the mission of taking violent criminals off the streets and enhancing community-wide efforts to make St. Louis a safer place for all Missourians.”
According to the charging documents, on Aug. 21, 2020, law enforcement officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) and Homeland Security Investigations encountered a 300 series BMW with an illegally tinted front windshield. As they investigated the vehicle, they discovered that the plate affixed to the BMW was registered to a Chevrolet. The officers then attempted to perform a traffic stop of the BMW, and, at first, the BMW appeared to be complying and pulling over, but then sped away at a high rate of speed. The BMW then crashed, and the driver, later identified as Sheperd, allegedly fled the scene of the wrecked vehicle on foot. The SLMPD officer pursued Sheperd and detained him a short distance away from where the vehicle crashed.
In the BMW, officers found a loaded .45 caliber Glock semiautomatic firearm on the driver’s floorboard of the vehicle. Additionally, officers found multiple baggies of white powder and dozens of capsules.
Because of a prior conviction punishable by more than one year in prison, Sheperd is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 3,500 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 800 defendants charged with federal crimes.
President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
Morgani Sentenced for Violating the Federal Gun Control ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MICHAEL MORGANI, age 33, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced by United States District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman on September 23, 2020 for a conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser.
According to court paperwork, MORGANI purchased two Extar semi-automatic pistols from an individual who he met on the Northshore. MORGANI brought them to a body shop in New Orleans, where they were later recovered by the New Orleans Police Department during the execution of a search warrant. MORGANI was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior felony conviction from Jefferson Parish for possession of heroin.
United States District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman sentenced MORGANI to (30) thirty months in the Bureau of Prisons to be followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, MORGANI is required to pay a $100.00 special assessment fee.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/project-guardian.
This case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.
Justice Department Announces Results in Fight Against the Opioid Crisis Two Years after Launch of Operation S.O.S.Read the Press Release
In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the launch of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S), a program aimed at reducing the supply of synthetic opioids in 10 high impact areas and identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers.
Two years ago, under Operation SOS, the U.S. Attorneys in 10 districts with some of the highest drug overdose death rates in the country each designated a county where they would focus on prosecuting every readily available case involving fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids, regardless of the drug quantity.
Over these two years, Operation SOS has resulted in approximately 750 defendants being charged in federal court, with 384 of those defendants charged thus far in FY 20. Most importantly, the districts participating in the program have seen a decline in opioid overdoses. From 2017 to 2019, most SOS counties reported a decline of 14% to 24%. One notable success was in the Western District of Pennsylvania, where the opioid overdose rates declined by nearly 45%.
“The Justice Department’s commitment to fighting the opioids epidemic is stronger than ever, and we are using every tool in our arsenal to disrupt the supply of these drugs on our streets,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “Operation SOS has had a significant positive impact on the communities where it is being employed. The Department will continue to build on these successes and work to stop the drug traffickers who so callously wreck lives.”
The 10 participating districts and some of their successes are listed below:
- The Eastern District of California has reported 60 active Operation S.O.S. investigations. Recently, the USAO charged one sentence-enhanced “death resulting” prosecution. In February 2020, another investigation resulted in the seizure of over 20,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills.
- The Eastern District of Kentucky reported that an SOS investigation led to a residential search warrant and seizure of more than 1,300 grams of fentanyl, more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, $15,000 cash, two firearms, and paraphernalia used to traffic narcotics including a device for pressing fentanyl into a brick-like shape.
- The District of Maine reported a July 2020 arrest of a defendant on charges of distributing counterfeit fentanyl pills marked as Percocet, in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose that occurred in May 2020. In addition, a Maine man was sentenced in February 2020 to five years in prison for two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, in connection with an incident where the defendant was found in possession of fentanyl less than 24 hours after he was released on a state summons for possession of fentanyl.
- The District of New Hampshire reported the October 2019 arrest of a man on a warrant for distributing fentanyl. Manchester Police Detectives executed a search warrant on a local drug-house, where they located approximately 850 grams of methamphetamine and 56 grams of fentanyl, several assault-style rifles, a handgun, ammunition, scales, safes, cash, and cellphones.
- The Northern District of Ohio reported a 10-defendant wire case involving a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating out of Elyria and Sandusky, Ohio. The DTO purchased kilogram quantities of cocaine and oxycodone pills. Co-conspirators would later cook the cocaine and sell it as crack to local dealers in Elyria. During the conspiracy, agents seized approximately ½ kilo of cocaine, 100 grams of crack, oxycodone pills, and five firearms.
- The Southern District of Ohio reported the arrest of an individual who had previously served a nine-year state prison sentence for drug trafficking. On Oct. 22, 2019, after law enforcement observed activity consistent with drug transactions, including the delivery of what appeared to be a kilogram of narcotics by a courier, members of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force executed a search warrant at a residence in Dayton, Ohio, where they located three firearms, 1,205 grams of methamphetamine, 1,716 grams of fentanyl, 305 grams of heroin, drug processing equipment, and 12 cellular telephones. One of the recovered cellular telephones contained photographs of multiple kilograms of fentanyl and communications with a narcotics supplier. Through subsequent investigation, law enforcement recovered an additional 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl/carfentanil.
- The Western District of Pennsylvania prosecuted 98 SOS cases thus far in FY 2020. Particularly noteworthy among them is the prosecution of Lynell Guyton. Guyton was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of cyclopropyl fentanyl and other charges, including firearms and money laundering violations. Guyton, who had been receiving shipments of fentanyl analogues from China, is both a Career Offender and an Armed Career Criminal. The case gained media attention when, during the execution of a search warrant in connection with the charges, the conspirators tipped over a table, sending cyclopropyl fentanyl into the air, sickening several law enforcement officers on the scene.
- The Eastern District of Tennessee reported multiple cases arising out of a single investigation involving a drug trafficking organization responsible for trafficking heroin and fentanyl from Michigan to various communities in the Eastern District of Tennessee. 29 defendants have been indicted on various charges, including drug trafficking conspiracy, overdose death enhancements, money-laundering conspiracy, and various firearms offenses. More than 5.5 kilograms of heroin and/or fentanyl and 11 firearms were seized during the investigation.
- The Northern District of West Virginia reported a July 21, 2020, forty-four count indictment against 12 defendants. During the nearly yearlong investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than 280 grams of cocaine base and more than 40 grams of fentanyl from one of the defendant’s residences in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Throughout the investigation, officers seized more than 280 grams of fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, and heroin; more than 350 grams of cocaine base; more than one kilogram of liquid PCP; various amounts of cocaine; five firearms; and over $28,000.
- The Southern District of West Virginia reported that after a three-day trial, a jury in the convicted Steven McCallister of distribution of fentanyl, possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Officers conducted a 50-gram purchase of heroin from McCallister, which then led to the execution of a search warrant at McCallister’s home. Officers seized over one kilogram of fentanyl and a firearm.
Former Cancer Center President Indicted for Participation in Long-Running Antitrust ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Dr. William Harwin, founder and former President of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), for conspiring to allocate medical and radiation oncology treatments for patients in Southwest Florida, the Department of Justice announced today.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Florida, charges Harwin for participating in a criminal conspiracy with a competing oncology group in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties (Southwest Florida). Beginning as early as 1999 and continuing until at least 2016, Harwin and his co-conspirators entered into an illegal agreement to allocate medical oncology treatments, such as chemotherapy, to FCS and radiation oncology treatments to a competing oncology group. The conspiracy allowed FCS and the competing oncology group to operate with minimal competition in Southwest Florida and limited valuable integrated care options and choices for cancer patients.
“As the charge demonstrates, the division remains committed to holding culpable executives accountable for their crimes, especially when they impact vulnerable Americans, such as those in need of life-saving treatments,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to work to protect competition and integrity in the healthcare industry.”
“It is unconscionable for a doctor to prioritize profits over patient care," said Michael F. McPherson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Tampa Field Office. “The FBI will persist in exposing unscrupulous medical providers who deny the public access to a competitive healthcare marketplace.”
The indictment follows a felony charge filed against FCS in April 2020 for its role in the same conspiracy in which Harwin is alleged to have participated. The Antitrust Division and FCS resolved the charge with a deferred prosecution agreement, under which the company admitted to conspiring to allocate treatments for cancer patients and agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty. FCS also agreed to waive and refrain from enforcing any non-compete provisions with its current or former oncologists or other employees who, during the term of the deferred prosecution agreement, open or join an oncology practice in Southwest Florida.
An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than $1 million.
Today’s announcement is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct in the oncology industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section and the FBI’s Tampa Field Office – Fort Myers R.A. Anyone with information in connection with this investigation or anticompetitive conduct in the healthcare industry generally is urged to contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.
The Justice Department Unveils Proposed Section 230 LegislationRead the Press Release
Today, on behalf of the Trump Administration, the Department of Justice sent draft legislation to Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The draft legislative text implements reforms that the Department of Justice deemed necessary in its June Recommendations and follows a yearlong review of the outdated statute. The legislation also executes President Trump’s directive from the Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship.
“For too long Section 230 has provided a shield for online platforms to operate with impunity,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Ensuring that the internet is a safe, but also vibrant, open and competitive environment is vitally important to America. We therefore urge Congress to make these necessary reforms to Section 230 and begin to hold online platforms accountable both when they unlawfully censor speech and when they knowingly facilitate criminal activity online.”
“The Department’s proposal is an important step in reforming Section 230 to further its original goal: providing liability protection to encourage good behavior online,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “The proposal makes clear that, when interactive computer services willfully distribute illegal material or moderate content in bad faith, Section 230 should not shield them from the consequences of their actions.”
The Department of Justice is grateful to all the experts, victims’ groups, academics, businesses, and other stakeholders that have and continue to engage closely with the department during this process. The draft legislation reflects important and helpful feedback received thus far. The department is also grateful to our colleagues in Congress for their support on Section 230 reform and looks forward to continued engagement moving forward.
The Department of Justice’s draft legislation focuses on two areas of reform, both of which are, at minimum, necessary to recalibrate the outdated immunity of Section 230.
Promoting Transparency and Open Discourse
First, the draft legislation has a series of reforms to promote transparency and open discourse and ensure that platforms are fairer to the public when removing lawful speech from their services.
The current interpretations of Section 230 have enabled online platforms to hide behind the immunity to censor lawful speech in bad faith and is inconsistent with their own terms of service. To remedy this, the department’s legislative proposal revises and clarifies the existing language of Section 230 and replaces vague terms that may be used to shield arbitrary content moderation decisions with more concrete language that gives greater guidance to platforms, users, and courts.
The legislative proposal also adds language to the definition of “information content provider” to clarify when platforms should be responsible for speech that they affirmatively and substantively contribute to or modify.
Addressing Illicit Activity Online
The second category of amendments is aimed at incentivizing platforms to address the growing amount of illicit content online, while preserving the core of Section 230’s immunity for defamation claims.
Section 230 immunity is meant to incentivize and protect online Good Samaritans. Platforms that purposely solicit and facilitate harmful criminal activity — in effect, online Bad Samaritans — should not receive the benefit of this immunity. Nor should a platform receive blanket immunity for continuing to host known criminal content on its services, despite repeated pleas from victims to take action.
The department also proposes to more clearly carve out federal civil enforcement actions from Section 230. Although federal criminal prosecutions have always been outside the scope of Section 230 immunity, online crime is a serious and growing problem, and there is no justification for blocking the federal government from civil enforcement on behalf of American citizens.
Finally, the department proposes carving out certain categories of civil claims that are far outside Section 230’s core objective, including offenses involving child sexual abuse, terrorism, and cyberstalking. These amendments, working together, will be critical first steps in enabling victims to seek redress for the most serious of online crimes.
The Justice Department’s proposals are available here.
Gilead Agrees to Pay $97 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Act Liability for Paying KickbacksRead the Press Release
Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), based in Foster City, California, has agreed to pay $97 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by illegally using a foundation as a conduit to pay the copays of thousands of Medicare patients taking Gilead’s pulmonary arterial hypertension drug, Letairis, the Justice Department announced today.
“This settlement demonstrates the government’s commitment to hold accountable companies that pay illegal kickbacks, whether directly or through a third party,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will not allow permit pharmaceutical manufacturers to set unaffordable drug prices while circumventing important cost-control mechanisms within the Medicare program.”
“Like its competitors, Actelion and United Therapeutics, Gilead used data from CVC that it knew it should not have, and effectively set up a proprietary fund within CVC to cover the co-pays of just its own drug,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling for the District of Massachusetts. “Such conduct not only violates the anti-kickback statute, it also undermines the Medicare program’s co-pay structure, which Congress created as a safeguard against inflated drug prices. During the period covered by today’s settlement, Gilead raised the price of Letairis by over seven times the rate of overall inflation in the United States.”
“When pharmaceutical companies deceitfully employ the charitable donation process as an instrument to subsidize copays for their own drugs, it subverts a critical safeguard against the excessive inflation of drug costs,” said Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Service’s Boston Regional Office. “Manipulation of this process threatens the integrity of our federal healthcare system, disregarding the American taxpayer who ultimately bears the cost. As such, we remain vigilantly focused on confronting this type of conduct and will continue our aggressive enforcement in this area.”
“Health care fraud costs our country tens of billions of dollars each year because of unscrupulous schemes like the one Gilead orchestrated that dangled kickbacks disguised as copay assistance in front of Medicare patients,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division. “Today’s $97 million settlement ensures Gilead pays for defrauding a government insurance program and reaffirms the FBI’s resolve to pursue investigations and exhaust all efforts to uncover these schemes.”
When a Medicare beneficiary obtains a prescription drug covered by Medicare, the beneficiary may be required to make a partial payment, which may take the form of a copayment, coinsurance, or a deductible (collectively “copays”). Congress included copay requirements in the Medicare program, in part, to serve as a check on health care costs, including the prices that pharmaceutical manufacturers can demand for their drugs.
Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, a pharmaceutical company is prohibited from offering or paying, directly or indirectly, any remuneration — which includes money or any other thing of value — to induce Medicare patients to purchase the company’s drugs. This prohibition extends to the payment of patients’ copay obligations.
Gilead sells Letairis, which is approved for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. The government alleged that Gilead used a foundation, which claims 501(c)(3) status for tax purposes, as a conduit to pay the copay obligations of thousands of Medicare patients taking Letairis and to induce those patients to purchase Letairis, because it knew that the prices Gilead set for Letairis could otherwise pose a barrier to those purchases. From 2007 through 2010, Gilead made payments to the foundation, which, in turn, used those funds to pay copays of patients prescribed Letairis. The government alleged that Gilead routinely obtained data from the foundation detailing how much the foundation had spent for patients on Letairis; it then used this information to decide how much to pay to the foundation and to confirm that its payments were sufficient to cover the copays of only patients taking Letairis. The government also alleged that, to generate revenue from Medicare and induce purchases of Letairis, Gilead referred Medicare patients to the foundation, which resulted in claims to Medicare to cover the cost of Letairis.
The government’s resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The investigation was conducted by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
Former Union President Sentenced for Violent ExtortionRead the Press Release
The former president of Iron Workers Local 395 was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for his role in organizing a brutal assault on a group of non-union ironworkers in Dyer, Indiana.
The attack, which left multiple workers with serious injuries, was part of an effort to obtain a contract for Local 395 to assist with the construction of the Plum Creek Christian Academy, a school affiliated with the Dyer Baptist Church.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Irene Lindow, Chicago Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) and Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office made the announcement.
Jeffrey Veach, 57, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of extortion conspiracy, along with co-defendant Thomas Williamson Sr., 69. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Theresa Springmann of the Northern District of Indiana. Williamson is scheduled to be sentenced separately by Judge Springmann on Dec. 15.
Veach resigned as president of Local 395, following his guilty plea in January. Under federal law, Veach will be barred from holding any union position for at least 13 years following the end of his prison sentence.
Pursuant to his plea agreement, Veach admitted that in January 2016, he learned that D5 Iron Works – a non-union ironworking company from Illinois – was performing work for the Dyer Baptist Church, in Local 395’s “territory.” On the morning of Jan. 7, Veach and Williamson visited the construction site in order to persuade the D5 workers to sign up with the union or stop work on the site. When they were rebuffed, Veach brought rank-and-file members of Local 395 to the construction site later that day. At Veach’s direction, the union members conducted a coordinated attacked on the D5 workers. The victims were beaten with fists and loose pieces of hardwood. As a result of the attack, one of the workers sustained a broken jaw that required several surgeries and hospitalization.
The DOL-OIG, FBI, and Dyer Police Department investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Alexander Gottfried and Robert Tully of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case. The Organized Crime and Gang Section’s Labor Unit supports federal criminal prosecutions in cases involving labor-management relations, internal union affairs, and the operation of employee pension and health care plans. Assistant Chief for Labor-Management Racketeering Gerald Toner provided critical assistance in the prosecution of this case.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Statement by Department of Justice Spokesperson Kerri Kupec on the Execution of William Emmett Lecroy Jr.Read the Press Release
Department of Justice Spokesperson Kerri Kupec has issued the following statement:
“Today, William Emmett LeCroy Jr., 50, was executed at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute in accordance with the capital sentence recommended by a federal jury and imposed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in 2004. LeCroy was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m. EDT.
In October 2001, LeCroy robbed, raped and murdered Joann Lee Tiesler, a 30-year-old nurse. LeCroy had previously served 10 years in federal and state prison for, among other crimes, aggravated assault, burglary, child molestation, and statutory rape. After his release to supervised probation, LeCroy began planning to flee the country. In furtherance of that plan, LeCroy broke into Tiesler’s home in Gilmer County, Georgia. Once she returned, LeCroy attacked her with a shotgun, bound her hands behind her back with cable ties, strangled her with an electrical cord, and raped and sodomized her at the foot of her bed. He then slashed her throat with a knife and repeatedly stabbed her in the back. After murdering her, LeCroy stole her vehicle and drove to the Canadian border, where he was arrested. In March 2004, a federal jury found LeCroy guilty of carjacking resulting in death and unanimously recommended a sentence of death, which the district court imposed. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal, and his requests for collateral relief were rejected by every court that considered them.
Nearly 19 years after brutally ending the life of Joann Lee Tiesler, William Emmett LeCroy finally has faced the justice he deserved. Family members and loved ones of Tiesler, including her father and her fiancé, witnessed the execution.”
Department of Justice Marks 20th Anniversary of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act with Comprehensive 20-Year ReportRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today marked the 20th Anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by releasing a comprehensive report detailing how RLUIPA has helped preserve the religious liberty rights of thousands of individuals and institutions.
RLUIPA, which protects the rights to use land for religious purposes without discrimination or unduly burdensome regulation, and protects the religious exercise of persons confined to institutions, was signed into law by President Clinton 20 years ago today. The report recounts the history and purpose of RLUIPA, how it has been interpreted in the courts, and the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts, which have protected the religious liberty of people of a wide range of faiths in a broad array of settings.
Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, stated: “For more than four centuries, religious people from all over the world have sought refuge here. Often, these people did so to escape persecution by monarchs, dictators, and other despots. Then, when our ancestors established the United States of America, the Founders adopted the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and thereby preserved in law the right of all people to exercise religion. Two decades ago, the Congress extended these protections when it passed RLUIPA. The Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to enforcing RLUIPA vigorously to protect the right of all people to practice their faith and worship together.”
Some key points in the report include:
- The Department of Justice has opened 553 preliminary and full investigations under RLUIPA; filed 28 RLUIPA lawsuits; filed 53 amicus briefs and statements of interest in privately filed RLUIPA cases; and intervened in more than 65 cases to defend the constitutionality of RLUIPA.
- Under the department’s Place to Worship Initiative, launched in June 2018, the department has filed double the number of RLUIPA cases and briefs, and 60% more full investigations, compared to the department’s RLUIPA filings in an average two-year period.
- Filed cases and briefs that have protected the rights of a wide range of religious groups, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Native Americans, and others.
- The department’s land use cases frequently involve the rights of minority faiths. 55% of the department’s court filings have involved Muslims and Jews. This is consistent with the legislative history of RLUIPA, where Congress found that minority faiths were disproportionately represented in zoning disputes.
The report is attached. More information about the Place to Worship Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship. More information about the enforcement of the RLUIPA rights of prisoners and others confined to institutions is available at the Special Litigation Section RLUIPA page, https://www.justice.gov/crt/religious-land-use-and-institutionalized-persons-act-0.
In July 2018, the Department of Justice announced the formation of the Religious Liberty Task Force. The Task Force brings together department components to coordinate their work on religious liberty litigation and policy, and to implement the Attorney General’s 2017 Religious Liberty Guidance.
Individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339 or the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743, or through the complaint portal on the Place to Worship Initiative website. More information about RLUIPA, including questions and answers about the law and other documents, may be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/rluipaexplain.php.
Attorney General William P. Barr Announces Updates on Operation Legend at Press Conference in MilwaukeeRead the Press Release
At a press conference in Milwaukee today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced updates on Operation Legend. He was joined by Matthew D. Krueger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, who announced charges against 26 defendants who allegedly operated a violent drug trafficking organization in Milwaukee. Law enforcement resources allocated by Operation Legend contributed to the investigation and today’s enforcement operation.
Since Operation Legend’s launch in July 2020, more than 3,500 arrests – including approximately 200 for homicide – have been made; more than 1,000 firearms have been seized; and nearly 19 kilos of heroin, more than 11 kilos of fentanyl (enough to deliver more than five million fatal doses), more than 94 kilos of methamphetamine, nearly 14 kilos of cocaine, and more than $6.5 million in drug proceeds have been seized.
Of the more than 3,500 individuals arrested, approximately 815 have been charged with federal offenses. More than 440 of those defendants have been charged with firearms offenses, while more than 300 have been charged with drug-related crimes. The remaining defendants have been charged with various offenses.
The Attorney General launched the operation as a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime. A prime example of that partnership is the announcement made today by U.S. Attorney Krueger.
This morning, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers arrested 21 of the 26 defendants charged by criminal complaint with offenses related to a violent drug-trafficking organization that obtained multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and marijuana from California for distribution in the Milwaukee area. The officers also executed search warrants in both Milwaukee and California, resulting in the seizure of approximately 33 firearms, $170,000, and over 700 grams of heroin from one location, as well as additional heroin, cocaine, and marijuana from other locations.
Included among the defendants is Louis R. Perez III, also known as “Eight Ball,” who is alleged to be a Mexican Posse gang member and the current leader of the nationwide drug trafficking organization. Several other Mexican Posse gang members have also been charged and arrested.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Breakdown of Operation Legend charges:
The initiative, which was first launched first in Kansas City, MO., on July 8, 2020, is named in honor of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept early in the morning of June 29 in Kansas City. The operation was subsequently expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on August 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on August 14, 2020. A breakdown of the federal charges in each district is below.
Kansas City, MO.
147 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 54 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 80 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 13 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Chicago, IL.
150 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 37 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 108 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 5 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Albuquerque, NM.
60 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 23 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 30 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 7 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Cleveland, OH.
72 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 42 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 26 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 4 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Detroit, MI.
65 defendants have been charged with federal offenses outlined below.
- 16 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 46 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 3 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Milwaukee, WI.
47 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 24 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 19 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 4 defendant has been charged with other violent crimes.
St. Louis, MO.
205 defendants have been charged with federal crimes.
- 93 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 90 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 22 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Memphis, TN.
27 defendants have been charged with federal offenses.
- 10 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 13 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 4 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Indianapolis, IN.
45 defendants have been charged with federal crimes outlined below.
- 7 defendants have been charged with narcotics-related offenses;
- 33 defendants have been charged with firearms-related offenses; and
- 5 defendants have been charged with other violent crimes.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Western District of Tennessee. Operation Legend launched in Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
United States vs. Kendrick Monger, Corey Groves, and Martez Banks
On Sept. 10, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against three Memphis men for conspiracy and theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer.
“The proliferation of stolen firearms on the streets of Memphis contributes to the increased frequency and severity of shooting incidents and violent crime in our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee. “Under Operation LeGend, we are surging federal resources to assist local law enforcement, and we are committed in our resolve to reduce violent crime by aggressively prosecuting federal firearms offenses. This indictment does just that.”
According to the indictment, on Aug. 2, 2020, Kendrick, Monger, 24; Corey Groves, 25; and Martez Banks, 25, all of Memphis, stole 32 firearms from the Shoot Point Blank gun range, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Memphis.
If convicted, the defendants each face up to 10 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Background on Operation Legend
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 2,000 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 592 defendants charged with federal crimes.President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security is also contributing agents to these efforts in St. Louis.
New Orleans Man Charged in Federal Court for Hobbs Act Robberies and Possession and Brandishing of a Firearm during a Crime of ViolenceRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that JARRELL FOX, (“FOX”) age 29, of New Orleans, was charged in an eight-count Indictment with four Hobbs Act Robberies, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a), three counts of Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(a)(ii), and one count of Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(a)(i).
The federal indictment alleges that FOX committed the armed robberies of four businesses located in the New Orleans East and Mid-City areas of New Orleans while either brandishing or possessing a firearm.
If convicted of the Hobbs Act Robbery violations, FOX faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a period of up to 3 years supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment (”MSA”) of $100.00. If convicted of Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, FOX faces a mandatory consecutive sentence of 7 years to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, up to 5 years supervised release, and a $100 MSA. If convicted of Possessing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, FOX faces a mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years to life imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, up to 5 years supervised release, and a $100 MSA. Any sentence imposed regarding the firearm offenses will run consecutive to the sentence imposed for the violation of the Hobbs Act Robbery offenses.
U. S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/project-guardian.
This case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brittany Reed of the Violent Crime/Strike Force Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Justice Department Awards Nearly $101 Million to Combat Human TraffickingRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today announced it has awarded nearly $101 million, through the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in funding to combat human trafficking and provide vital services to trafficking victims throughout the United States.
“The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors.”
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) awarded over $97.4 million to state, local and tribal jurisdictions, service providers and task forces all over the country, while OJP’s National Institute of Justice awarded the remaining $3.5 million to support research and evaluation on human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a massive global enterprise with roots in cities and communities here in America and across the world,” said OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “The Office of Justice Programs is using all the resources at its disposal to help our state, local and tribal partners uncover and eradicate trafficking operations and help victims open the door to a new life.”
Grants awarded under fiscal year (FY) 2020 OVC programs aim to enhance the quality and quantity of services available to survivors of human trafficking. Specific programs:
- The Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking program awards over $22.7 million total. OVC awards over $17.7 million to 27 programs to support the effectiveness of collaborative and multidisciplinary task forces to combat human trafficking. The purpose of this program is to develop and strengthen programs for victims of human trafficking, including enhancing the capacity of law enforcement and other stakeholders to identify victims and provide justice for those victims through the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. OVC also awards nearly $5 million in grants to three organizations for training and technical assistance for the task forces.
- The Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards over $35.1 million total to 73 organizations to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term housing assistance for trafficking victims, including rental, utilities or related expenses, such as security deposits and relocation costs. The grants will also provide funding to help victims locate permanent housing, secure employment and receive occupational training and counseling.
- The Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking program awards over $4.2 million total to four recipients to integrate human trafficking policy and programming at the state or tribal level. This program will enhance coordinated, multidisciplinary and statewide approaches to at-risk populations to improve outcomes for children and youth who are victims of human trafficking.
- The Preventing Trafficking of Girls program awards $1.8 million total to four organizations, including a training and technical assistance provider, to support prevention and early intervention services, including mentoring and other direct support services for girls who are at risk of or are victims of sex trafficking.
- The Services for Minor Victims of Sex Trafficking program gives over $6.8 million to four recipients to develop, expand and strengthen assistance programs for minor victims of sex trafficking. Under this program, the funded states, tribes, and units of local government will provide (directly and through partnerships) an array of services that minor victims of human trafficking often require to address their need for safety, security, and healing.
- The Services for Minor Victims of Labor Trafficking program awards nearly $2 million total to three organizations to develop, expand, or strengthen victim service programs for minor victims of labor trafficking whose victimization occurred when they were under the age of 18.
- The Services for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards more than $23.6 million to 43 organizations to support services specific to victims of human trafficking.
- The Specialized Training and Technical Assistance on Housing for Victims of Human Trafficking program awards $643,163 total to deliver specialized training and technical assistance to victim service organizations to enhance their ability to provide appropriate housing for victims of human trafficking.
- OVC awards the Promoting Employment Opportunities for Survivors of Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Project continuation funding in the amount of $300,000 to increase access to quality educational and employment opportunities for survivors of human trafficking.
Grants awarded under FY 2020 NIJ programs aim to understand law enforcement practices with regard to preventing and responding to victims of trafficking. Specific programs:
- The Research and Evaluation of Trafficking in Persons program awards over $2.5 million total to four organizations to build upon research and evaluation efforts to better understand, prevent and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States.
- The Research on Law Enforcement Responses to Sex Trafficking of Minors program awards nearly $1 million to understand how law enforcement practices with regard to preventing and responding to the sex trafficking of minors have evolved since passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. NIJ was specifically interested in understanding how widely law enforcement agencies have adopted practices based on the perspective that the minor is a victim rather than a delinquent and the challenges that agencies have faced in adopting such practices.
For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit: https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh241/files/media/document/ovchumantraffickingfactsheet.pdf. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Department of Justice Identifies New York City, Portland and Seattle as Jurisdictions Permitting Violence and Destruction of PropertyRead the Press Release
UPDATE
The guidance and designations described in the press release below were withdrawn on February 25, 2021 pursuant to a memorandum signed by Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson.
All Department grantmaking components shall ensure that no state or local jurisdictions are disfavored in any Departmental programs on the basis of the withdrawn guidance and designations below.
The U.S. Department of Justice today identified the following three jurisdictions that have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities: New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. The Department of Justice is continuing to work to identify jurisdictions that meet the criteria set out in the President’s Memorandum and will periodically update the list of selected jurisdictions as required therein.
The list was published on DOJ’s website today in response to President Trump’s memorandum of September 2, 2020, entitled “Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities.”
“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
Criteria for evaluating each city is below:
- Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.
- Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.
- Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.
- Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.
- Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.
New York City
- Shootings in New York City have been on the rise since looting and protests began on or about May 28, 2020. For July 2020, shootings increased from 88 to 244, an increase of 177% over July 2019. In August 2020, shootings increased from 91 to 242, a 166% increase over August 2019.
- While the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage, the New York City Council cut $1 billion from NYPD’s FY21 budget.
- The budget resulted in the cancellation of the new police recruiting class, cuts to overtime spending, and the transfer of certain police functions, including school safety, out of the NYPD.
- Meanwhile, the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorneys have declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests, and the District Attorneys in Queens and the Bronx have declined to prosecute other protest-related charges.
- Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have forcefully rejected federal law enforcement support.
Portland, Oregon
- This month, Portland marked 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing.
- Those bent on violence regularly started fires, threw projectiles at law enforcement officers, and destroyed property. Numerous law enforcement officers, among others, suffered injury.
- Shootings increased by more than 140% in June and July 2020 compared to the same period last year.
- In the midst of this violence, the Portland City Council cut $15 million from the police bureau, eliminating 84 positions. Crucially, the cuts included the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which investigates shootings, and several positions from the police team that responds to emergency incidents.
- In August, Portland Mayor Wheeler sent a letter to President Trump expressly rejecting the Administration’s offer of federal law enforcement to stop the violent protests.
Seattle, Washington
- For nearly a month, starting in June, the City of Seattle permitted anarchists and activists to seize six square blocks of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, naming their new enclave the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) and then the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” (CHOP).
- Law enforcement and fire fighters were precluded from entering the territory. The Seattle Police Department was ordered to abandon their precinct within the CHOP.
- Person-related crime in the CHOP increased 525% from the same period of time in the same area the year before, including by Mayor Durkan’s own count “two additional homicides, 6 additional robberies, and 16 additional aggravated assaults (to include 2 additional non-fatal shootings).”
- The CHOP was allowed to stand for nearly a month, during which time two teenagers were shot and killed in the zone.
- The Seattle City Council, Mayor Durkan, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee publicly rejected federal involvement in law enforcement activities within the city of Seattle.
Antitrust Division Supports Modernizing Merger Filing Exemptions for Certain InvestmentsRead the Press Release
On Monday, September 21, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim concurred in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Federal Register publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the premerger notification rules (the Rules) that implement the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR).
The NPRM proposes to create a new reporting exemption for certain de minimis investments of 10% or less. The proposed amendments in the NPRM also change the definition of “person,” and make explanatory and ministerial changes to the HSR Rules as well as the HSR Form and Instructions to effect the proposed amendments. In another Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), also supported by the Antitrust Division, the FTC seeks to gather information, related to seven topics, that will help to determine the path for future amendments to the HSR Rules.
“One of my goals as Assistant Attorney General has been to right-size the HSR regime to better account for how the economy has changed in the decades since the HSR regime was first enacted, including changes in the investment landscape and investor behavior,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim. “I am pleased to be working with the FTC towards this goal. In particular, I have been an advocate for the creation of a new exemption for certain de minimis investments of 10% or less in order to address the regulatory burdens of an overbroad HSR requirement for certain minority investments that do not raise competition concerns.”
A comment period will follow publication in the Federal Register, and the Antitrust Division encourages all interested stakeholders to submit comments on both the NPRM and the ANPRM. The Antitrust Division is particularly interested in comments on the following features of the NPRM, which will greatly benefit both the Antitrust Division and the FTC as they work collaboratively towards a final rule:
- The Director/Officer Carve-Out: Should this carve-out be removed, given that the new exemption already has carve-outs for competitors and common ownership? How does it meaningfully increase the likelihood of receiving filings that have the potential to raise competition concerns?
- The Vendor/Vendee Carve-Out: Should this carve-out be removed? Does it meaningfully increase the likelihood of receiving filings that have the potential to raise competition concerns?
Virginia Attorneys Sentenced for Attempting to Extort a Multinational Chemicals CompanyRead the Press Release
Two Virginia attorneys were sentenced today on federal extortion charges for their roles in a scheme to extort a multinational chemicals company by threatening to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if their demands for a $200 million payment disguised as a purported “consulting agreement” were not met.
Timothy Litzenburg, 38, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of the Western District of Virginia. Daniel Kincheloe, 41, of Glen Allen, Virginia, was separately sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release by Judge Moon. Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate communications with the intent to extort.
“These two attorneys flagrantly violated their ethical duties to their own clients as they sought to extort a company out of $200 million,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Attorneys who cross the line and abuse their status as officers of the court will be held accountable for their actions.”
“Today’s sentencing should serve as a strong notice to fraudsters that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will pursue anyone who uses the mail for illegal schemes,” said Delany De Leon-Colon, Inspector in Charge at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) who oversees the Criminal Investigations Group. “Whether it’s a private citizen or a major corporation, Postal Inspectors will never relent in protecting them from those who seek to use the U.S. Mail to further their dangerous scams.”
Litzenburg and Kincheloe previously admitted that in approximately October 2019, Litzenburg approached a company (Company 1) and threatened to make public statements alleging that Company 1 had significant civil liability for manufacturing a purportedly harmful chemical used in a common household product used to kill weeds. Litzenburg and Kincheloe also admitted that after describing the possibility of damaging lawsuits against Company 1, Litzenburg proposed, in sum and substance, that he and Kincheloe enter into a “consulting arrangement” with Company 1 that would create a purported conflict-of-interest that would effectively stop them from representing their clients as plaintiffs in litigation against Company 1. Thereafter, Litzenburg and Kincheloe admitted that Litzenburg, with Kincheloe’s knowledge and agreement, demanded that Company 1 pay Litzenburg, Kincheloe, and others, a total of $200 million in purported “consulting fees.”
Litzenburg and Kincheloe also previously admitted that after making their demand for $200 million from Company 1, they registered a Virginia corporation for the purpose of receiving monies from Company 1, and that they agreed to split the funds from Company 1 amongst themselves and their associates, and to not distribute any of the monies Company 1 paid them as purported “consulting fees” to their existing clients. Litzenburg and Kincheloe admitted that after making their demand for $200 million, Litzenburg threatened Company 1 that they and others would commence litigation that would become “an ongoing and exponentially growing problem for [Company 1], particularly when the media inevitably takes notice” and that such litigation would cost Company 1 and its publicly-traded parent company “billions, setting aside the associated drop in stock price and reputation damage.”
Litzenburg and Kincheloe also admitted pursuant to their guilty pleas that in an email written by Litzenburg, they threatened Company 1 that unless they were paid $200 million, Company 1 would have “thousands of future plaintiffs against [Company 1]” and that “in the absence of a so-called ‘global’ or final deal with me, this will certainly balloon into an existential threat to [Company 1].”
Litzenburg and Kincheloe also admitted that they met in person with attorneys representing Company 1 at a conference center in Charlottesville, Virginia, and during that meeting Litzenburg again threatened to injure the property and reputation of Company 1 and its parent company unless they were paid $200 million pursuant to purported “consulting arrangements,” and that without such a deal there was no way Company 1 “gets out of it for less” than “[a] billion. Yeah. No, I mean, nuisance value, uh, defense lawyer fees, a hit in the stock when this gets filed and served, maybe the press conference, whatever.” Later in the same meeting, Litzenburg and Kincheloe admitted that Litzenburg again stated, in sum and in part, that if they commenced litigation it would have adverse effects on Company 1’s parent’s stock price, which Litzenburg described as “a 40 percent stock loss coming off the top.”
Litzenburg also admitted that, during other communications with Company 1, he told Company 1 that if he received the $200 million in “consulting fees” he would not discuss Company 1 or its parent company with his current clients, and that he was willing to “take a dive” during a deposition of a toxicology expert to deter potential future claims related to litigation against Company 1.
The USPIS investigated the case. Principal Assistant Chief Henry P. Van Dyck and Assistant Chief L. Rush Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section plays a pivotal role in the Department of Justice’s fight against white collar crime around the country.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
U.S Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General and Justice Department Conduct Animal Welfare Criminal Investigations TrainingRead the Press Release
On Sept. 14 to 18, criminal investigators and attorneys from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG) and the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) collaborated to put on a week-long training for USDA-OIG criminal investigators, as well as other federal law enforcement agencies on animal welfare criminal investigations and prosecutions.
“Animal fighting and other violations of federal animal welfare laws are serious offenses, and ending these cruel practices requires close partnerships among federal law enforcement agencies,” said ENRD Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Brightbill. “Our division is proud to be a leader in this worthy cause. Our work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and prosecute these cases sends a strong message that those who engage in such illegal and cruel practices will be punished.”
“The USDA Office of Inspector General has consistently and successfully conducted investigations of animal fighting and welfare, and has a proven record of building strong partnerships with other law enforcement officials and nongovernmental organizations to help protect animals,” said USDA-OIG’s Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Peter P. Paradis Sr. “Partnering with the Justice Department to train our special agents ensures that we continue to attain optimal results for our efforts.”
“This in-depth training workshop is critical to the enforcement of our national animal laws,” said Professor David Favre of Michigan State University’s College of Law, and founder of its Animal Legal and Historical Center. “In this ever-evolving world of animal law enforcement, there are always lessons to be learned and experiences to share.”
During the training, special agents with USDA OIG’s Office of Investigations and nine attorneys from ENRD, including Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brightbill, joined by state law enforcement officials, experts from academia, and nongovernmental organizations, shared their expertise with attendees. Instructors provided participants with an overview of the business of dogfighting and cockfighting, horse soring, overviews of federal animal welfare and cruelty statutes, effective investigative techniques, evidence collection best practices, available resources and authorities for the seizure and post-seizure care of animals, and successful sentencing strategies. The training also included a session on biohazards and zoonotics.
The Federal Animal Welfare Act makes it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison to knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive any animal, including dogs, for purposes of having the animal participate in an animal fighting venture. In 2014, the Justice Department designated ENRD as having concurrent responsibility, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, to enforce Federal animal cruelty laws.
The Department of Justice and USDA-OIG have had a number of successes in combating animal cruelty. For example, Operation Grand Champion brought 12 individuals to justice for their roles in a dog fighting ring. The operation began with a tip from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent surveilling drug crimes, and, from this tip, USDA-OIG investigators, working with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, uncovered a ring that crossed multiple states and involved hundreds of dogs. The prosecutions, conducted by ENRD and U.S. Attorney’s Offices between 2017 and 2019, resulted in convictions of 12 defendants in four federal districts, who were sentenced to 315 months in prison, combined. As a result of the investigation, 113 dogs were rescued and either surrendered or forfeited to the government.
The Justice Department has a robust and cross-cutting program to ensure effective enforcement of animal welfare law. This includes a civil forfeiture process that often results in animals being removed from accused abusers more quickly, along with the needed care, medical treatment, and the best chance for recovery and adoption. More than 1,200 dogs have been seized and rescued through this process. In addition, the Justice Department has provided extensive training for federal, state, and local law enforcement; identified and successfully advocated for policy changes that improve enforcement; and convened state and local law enforcement, animal protection organizations, and academic institutions to coordinate efforts in this area.
For more information on the department's efforts, visit our website at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/animal-welfare.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgRead the Press Release
Attorney General William P. Barr has released the following statement:
“On behalf of the Department of Justice, I extend my deepest sympathy on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg led one of the great lives in the history of American law. She was a brilliant and successful litigator, an admired court of appeals judge, and a profoundly influential Supreme Court Justice. For all her achievements in those roles, she will perhaps be remembered most for inspiring women in the legal profession and beyond. She and I did not agree on every issue, but her legal ability, personal integrity, and determination were beyond doubt. She leaves a towering legacy, and all who seek justice mourn her loss.”
Statement by Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall on the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgRead the Press Release
Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall has released the following statement:
“On behalf of the Office of the Solicitor General, we mourn the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was rightly renowned among people of all backgrounds, but she has a special significance to Supreme Court lawyers. She was herself a pathmarking advocate before the Court in landmark equal-protection cases in the 1970s. And during her 40 years on the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit, she was equally formidable from the other side of the lectern. She was an incisive questioner, a clear and careful writer, and a model of dignity and civility. In the process, Justice Ginsburg served as an inspiration to this office, the Supreme Court bar, and far beyond. I extend our deepest condolences to her family, her colleagues on the Court, her former law clerks, and all who knew and admired her.”
Justice Department Requires Divestiture in Order for Anheuser-Busch to Acquire Craft Brew AllianceRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI), its wholly-owned subsidiary Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC (AB Companies), and Craft Brew Alliance Inc. (CBA) to divest CBA’s entire Kona brand business in the state of Hawaii and to license to the acquirer the Kona brand in Hawaii in order for AB Companies, a minority shareholder in CBA, to proceed with its proposed acquisition of the remaining shares of CBA. The department has approved PV Brewing Partners, LLC as the acquirer. The proposed settlement will maintain competition in the beer industry in Hawaii benefitting consumers.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to block the $220 million proposed transaction. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.
According to the department’s complaint, AB Companies’ acquisition of CBA likely would substantially lessen head-to-head competition in Hawaii between ABI brands, such as Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra, and CBA’s Kona brand. If the transaction was allowed to proceed, ABI and CBA would have a combined share of approximately 41 percent in the moderately concentrated Hawaii beer market. The merger would also likely harm future competition between ABI and CBA as, absent the merger, the companies would continue to invest and compete against each other for premium beer sales in the state. By eliminating CBA’s Kona brand as a competitive restraint, ABI would also likely have greater ability to facilitate price coordination, resulting in higher prices for beer sold in Hawaii, amplifying competitive concerns.
“This merger, as originally structured, would have significantly increased market concentration in Hawaii and eliminated the growing competition between ABI and CBA brands,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s settlement with its divestitures will ensure that consumers continue to benefit from this competition today and into the future.”
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, ABI and CBA must divest CBA’s entire Kona Hawaii business — Kona Brewery LLC — to PV Brewing Partners or to an alternative purchaser approved by the United States. Specifically, the settlement requires the sale of the Kona brewing facilities in Hawaii, including a new 100,000-barrel capacity brewery currently under construction; the granting of a perpetual, exclusive license of the Kona brand for the brewing, distribution, and sale of Kona beer in Hawaii as well as other assets, rights, and interests necessary to ensure that PV Brewing Partners, LLC, is able to compete in the Hawaii beer market using the Kona brand.
ABI is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Belgium, with its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. ABI is already a minority shareholder in CBA. ABI proposes to acquire 100 percent ownership of CBA through AB Companies, a Delaware limited liability company that currently holds a minority ownership stake in CBA. ABI owns numerous major beer brands sold in the United States, including in Hawaii. These brands include Bud Light, Budweiser, Busch Light, Natural Light, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and Golden Road.
CBA is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Washington, with its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. CBA owns several beer brands sold in the United States, including Widmer Brothers, Omission, Redhook, and Kona, a brand that originated in Hawaii and is especially popular in that state.
PV Brewing Partners LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company with its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. The entity was formed by VantEdge Partners LP, a private equity company based in metropolitan Kansas City.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Robert A. Lepore, Chief, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street N.W., Suite 8000, Washington, D.C., 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.
DOJ requires divestiture in order for Anheuser-Busch to acquire Craft Brew AllianceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI), its wholly-owned subsidiary Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC (AB Companies), and Craft Brew Alliance Inc. (CBA) to divest CBA’s entire Kona brand business in the state of Hawaii and to license to the acquirer the Kona brand in Hawaii in order for AB Companies, a minority shareholder in CBA, to proceed with its proposed acquisition of the remaining shares of CBA. The department has approved PV Brewing Partners, LLC as the acquirer. The proposed settlement will maintain competition in the beer industry in Hawaii benefitting consumers.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to block the $220 million proposed transaction. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.
According to the department’s complaint, AB Companies’ acquisition of CBA likely would substantially lessen head-to-head competition in Hawaii between ABI brands, such as Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra, and CBA’s Kona brand. If the transaction was allowed to proceed, ABI and CBA would have a combined share of approximately 41 percent in the moderately concentrated Hawaii beer market. The merger would also likely harm future competition between ABI and CBA as, absent the merger, the companies would continue to invest and compete against each other for premium beer sales in the state. By eliminating CBA’s Kona brand as a competitive restraint, ABI would also likely have greater ability to facilitate price coordination, resulting in higher prices for beer sold in Hawaii, amplifying competitive concerns.
“This merger, as originally structured, would have significantly increased market concentration in Hawaii and eliminated the growing competition between ABI and CBA brands,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s settlement with its divestitures will ensure that consumers continue to benefit from this competition today and into the future.”
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, ABI and CBA must divest CBA’s entire Kona Hawaii business — Kona Brewery LLC — to PV Brewing Partners or to an alternative purchaser approved by the United States. Specifically, the settlement requires the sale of the Kona brewing facilities in Hawaii, including a new 100,000-barrel capacity brewery currently under construction; the granting of a perpetual, exclusive license of the Kona brand for the brewing, distribution, and sale of Kona beer in Hawaii as well as other assets, rights, and interests necessary to ensure that PV Brewing Partners, LLC, is able to compete in the Hawaii beer market using the Kona brand.
ABI is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Belgium, with its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. ABI is already a minority shareholder in CBA. ABI proposes to acquire 100 percent ownership of CBA through AB Companies, a Delaware limited liability company that currently holds a minority ownership stake in CBA. ABI owns numerous major beer brands sold in the United States, including in Hawaii. These brands include Bud Light, Budweiser, Busch Light, Natural Light, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and Golden Road.
CBA is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Washington, with its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. CBA owns several beer brands sold in the United States, including Widmer Brothers, Omission, Redhook, and Kona, a brand that originated in Hawaii and is especially popular in that state.
PV Brewing Partners LLC, is a Delaware limited liability company with its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. The entity was formed by VantEdge Partners LP, a private equity company based in metropolitan Kansas City.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Robert A. Lepore, Chief, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street N.W., Suite 8000, Washington, D.C., 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.
Operation Legend: Case of the DayRead the Press Release
Each weekday, the Department of Justice will highlight a case that has resulted from Operation Legend. Today’s case is out of the Western District of Missouri. Operation Legend launched in Kansas City on July 8, 2020, in response to the city facing increased homicide and non-fatal shooting rates.
United States vs. Leamandreal Dorsey
“Court documents cite a long history of gun violence and drug trafficking by this defendant who terrorized his neighborhood, allegedly shooting several victims,” Garrison said. “This is his second federal charge for illegally possessing firearms. Operation LeGend is successfully taking armed, violent criminals like this off the street to make our neighborhoods safer.”
A Kansas City, Missouri, man was charged with a firearm crime on July 24, 2020, in federal court in the Western District of Missouri after he was arrested for allegedly shooting three victims in an incident that week.
Leamandreal Dorsey, 40, was charged in federal court with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the charging document, Dorsey illegally possessed a firearm, specifically a Glock .40-caliber handgun attached to an extended drum magazine that contained 40 live rounds of ammunition.
On April 1, 2020, Kansas City police officers responded to a reported weapons disturbance. One of Dorsey’s neighbors told officers that Dorsey pointed a gun at him and threatened him. Officers contacted Dorsey at his home, sitting on the roof of a black Mercedes-Benz C300. It is alleged that Dorsey jumped into the driver’s seat when officers approached. Dorsey was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody. The owner of the vehicle provided consent for the officers to search the car, and they found a backpack in the passenger’s seat that contained the Glock .40-caliber handgun attached to an extended drum magazine, as well as a spare magazine.
Although this incident occurred on April 1, Dorsey was arrested following a separate shooting incident that occurred the week of July 24 during which three individuals were wounded by gunfire.
According to charging documents, on July 22, 2020, Kansas City, Missouri, police officers responded to a shooting. Six individuals were on the front porch of a residence when an individual - later identified as Dorsey - started shooting at them. According to the victims, Dorsey walked away, but returned minutes later and began shooting again; he then fled on foot. Three of the individuals were struck by gunfire and transported to the hospital. Investigators found 31 spent shell casings at the scene.
Later the same day, investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip that identified Dorsey as the shooter.
Because of a previous felony conviction punishable by more than one year in prison, Dorsey is prohibited from possessing a firearm. His prior convictions includes being a felon in possession of a firearm, for which he served three years in federal prison. He also has two prior felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, two prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, and a prior felony conviction for drug trafficking.
The charging document also alleges four previous instances in which Dorsey pointed firearms at people and threatened them. Among those incidents, Dorsey shot a man in the hip who was running from Dorsey’s residence following a disagreement.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Background on Operation Legend
President Trump promised to assist America’s cities that have been plagued by violence. In July, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime in cities across America that were experiencing an uptick in violence. Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed on June 29th in Kansas City, Missouri, while asleep in his home.
Since its inception, Operation Legend has yielded more than 2000 local, state, and federal arrests, with more than 592 defendants charged with federal crimes.
Operation Legend was launched in Kansas City, Mo., on July 8, 2020, and expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque on July 22, 2020, to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on July 29, 2020, to St. Louis and Memphis on Aug. 6, 2020, and to Indianapolis on Aug. 14, 2020. As part of Operation Legend, Attorney General Barr has directed federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and ATF to surge resources to these cities to help state and local officials fighting violent crime.
International Competition Network Addresses Enforcement and Policy Challenges of the Digital Economy at United States-Hosted 19th Annual ConferenceRead the Press Release
The International Competition Network (ICN) held its 19th annual conference on September 14-17, 2020. Co-hosted by the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the conference was the ICN’s first virtual conference.
Originally planned as an in-person conference in Los Angeles in May, the conference transitioned to a virtual format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division and FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simons led the U.S. delegation.
“Global engagement through ICN is essential to our work in preserving market competition in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim. "We are proud to have co-hosted this year’s ICN conference and to have had conversations on issues of great national importance, such as the role of antitrust enforcement in the digital economy, made available to the public."
“In these challenging times, it has been uplifting to see the strong commitment of the global competition community to reaffirming the central importance of competition policy to growth, innovation, and economic recovery,” said FTC Chairman Simons. “The FTC is proud to have co-hosted the ICN’s 19th annual conference and looks forward to working with our colleagues around the world to meet the challenges of the digital economy and ensure competitive markets that serve consumers.”
The conference examined a range of competition enforcement and policy issues, including those involving the digital economy. Over 2,500 delegates from around the world participated in the conference, including agency leadership and staff, as well as competition experts from international organizations and the legal, business and academic communities.
Assistant Attorney General Delrahim and Chairman Simons opened the conference and participated in a showcase program that explored competition enforcement in the digital economy, including enforcement tools and international cooperation.
During the conference, the ICN working groups on cartels, unilateral conduct, advocacy, mergers, and agency effectiveness highlighted achievements and developments with respect to their projects.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for International and Policy, Rene Augustine, led the Division’s international team in the strategic development and implementation of the international conference.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Antitrust Division spoke on a panel discussing big data and cartelization inspired by a scoping paper finalized this year by the Cartel Working Group. Under the Antitrust Division’s leadership, the group also finalized guidance on enhancing cross-border leniency cooperation.
FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson spoke on a panel on the objectives, design, and implementation of remedies in unilateral conduct s cases involving digital markets. The Unilateral Conduct Working Group produced a report detailing the results of an ICN survey on dominance and substantial market power in digital markets.
The Advocacy Working Group held a panel on competition advocacy in the digital age. The group also issued a report on providing input to policymakers on the competitive impact of government regulations.
The Merger Working Group organized a panel on merger investigations in the digital sector that addressed the characteristics of digital mergers, theories of harm, remedies, and the scope for international cooperation. The group also issued a report on agency experiences with conglomerate mergers and work exploring the impact of procedural infringements by parties during merger investigations.
The Agency Effectiveness Working Group’s panel focused on competition agencies’ strategies to address the challenges of the digital economy. The group also has led the ICN’s efforts since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic to share operational experiences and information on agencies’ adaptation policies.
The ICN Steering Group has also begun exploring the issues related to competition enforcement and advocacy pertaining to the intersection between competition, consumer protection, and data privacy law and policy, a project initiated by the FTC.
The ICN also unveiled its plan to conduct a comprehensive organizational review, co-led by the FTC, of the ICN’s substantive coverage, tools, and operational framework with a view to preparing for future developments and challenges as the ICN enters its third decade in 2021.
Recordings of the conference will be available on the ICN conference webpage after the close of the conference. Materials and recordings related to the Antitrust Division’s participation are available on the division’s International Program page
Supplemental annual conference programming will be held throughout the fall, including additional sessions organized by each of the ICN’s five Working Groups. The Antitrust Division, together with its co-chairs, will also lead a session for participants in the ICN Framework on Competition Agency Procedures (CAP).
The ICN was created in October 2001 to increase understanding of competition policy and promote convergence toward sound antitrust enforcement around the world. It was founded by 15 agencies including the Antitrust Division and the FTC, and has grown to 140 agencies from 129 jurisdictions, supported by a wide network of non-government advisors from around the world.